What Once Was Lost
by The-Sands-Of-Time
Summary: Ravenna Wintersong is the foster child of the Ice Dragon Queen Kayerith. She desperately wants to see her mother again. Fearing that something terrible has happened to Kayerith, she has searched for her for the past seven years to no avail. The powerful ice mage's only hope is finding Salamander, the only other Dragon Slayer she's heard of. Hopefully he has some answers for her.
1. The Beginning

**Quick author's note: This is one of my first stories and definitely my first Fairy Tail story. I've been hooked on it though and couldn't resist the urge to write this story when I thought of the character. I hope you guys start to like her as much as I am starting to! I am going to try to keep the story pretty accurate, well, as accurate as I can with adding a new character. I hate to be another one of _those_ people but please rate and review. It gives me feedback on what I need to work on, what you guys want to see more of, and what is great just the way it is! Thanks! Author's note over.**

* * *

She shivered. She hadn't realized she had gotten so cold. Perhaps it wasn't the cold making her shiver. Perhaps it was the inevitability of her death. Even if she survived the threat of this Vulcan she knew she would freeze to death soon. She was hopelessly lost in the mountains and without food or shelter. The Vulcan grinned at her, showing a smile with missing teeth. "Pretty, little, human girl," it sung, stressing each syllable in an unrefined speech. It advanced on her slowly, careful to keep its song of triumph matched to its steps. It seemed excited to have found a new play thing.

"Leave me alone!" She shouted over the whistling of the wind in her ears. The storm they now faced had been raging for three long days. She had spent the better of them holed up in a cave she thought was north of here but telling direction was impossible in the blizzard. Once her food supply had run dry she had had no choice but to take her chances against the weather.

She sunk down into the best fighting stance her small body could muster and raised the thick stick she had been using as a walking aid. She could feel her teeth grinding together in determination. She wanted to stop shivering, to stop appearing weak before her enemy but she couldn't. She hadn't survived the last two weeks alone just to die here; she hadn't forgotten those that had given their lives so quickly, but she couldn't help the fear and desperation that had been weighing on her heart.

"Go away! I'm warning you!" She shouted at it again, wielding her stick in the most threatening gesture she could. The Vulcan's grin somehow grew wider. It seemed entirely unnatural the way it spread over its face. Its voice rang out in the same song it had been singing since it first saw her several minutes before. It completely ignored her warning and moved closer, with the same slow deliberate steps.

Suddenly something in its motions changed, and then the beast was charging towards her full speed. She was caught off guard but still had just enough time to leap to the side in a daring roll. The Vulcan missed her but only barely. She managed to recover from her perilous leap before it could recover from its all-out charge. She swung her stick as hard as her arms would let her into the shins of the beast. The Vulcan screeched in sudden pain and red fury.

Her arms jolted from the shock of the hit and when she pulled her stick back, close to her body, only half remained. Red marks appeared on its shins almost instantly. The Vulcan wheeled on her with an outstretched hand that easily made contact with her head. She gasped in surprise first and a moment later in pain as the cold caused a deep sting to swell on the side of her face. She tumbled hap hazardously through the air and into the snow, rolling to a stop. Her knees shock as she rose to her feet again. One hand clung to the remains of her stick as if it was the most important thing in the world. The other hand clutched the now blossoming bruise on her face.

_If only I had magic like Grandma Saya._ She thought desperately. "Puny human girl!" The Vulcan growled in fury as it advanced on her again. She could still see the red on its shins but it seemed far less affected by her attack than she had hoped. "That hurt! You gonna pay now." The little girl scowled at her opponent. She had no idea how she was going to fight him with nothing but a half stick but she would have to try, for Grandma Saya and for Caroline and for Zazel.

Her eyes flew over the snow, searching for the other half of the stick but it was to no avail. It was buried in the deep snows of the blizzard. She looked down and examined what remained of her walking stick. It was short but it also formed a jagged edge where it had broken off.

The Vulcan was on her again and the brief time that she had had to plan was up. It reached towards her with a gnarled hand. As nimbly as she could through the snow she dove into his hand, catching the Vulcan off guard. She drove her pseudo dagger into the meaty flesh of his palm and darted back before his fingers closed around her.

The howl of pain that ripped from the Vulcan's throat was anything but human. The sound of it roared over the storm. It jumped mindlessly from one foot to the other clutching its wrist and staring at the now protruding stick. "How dare you!" It roared. It took a moment for the Vulcan to rip the dagger like stick from its palm and toss it over its shoulder, far from her reach. Now weaponless the girl tried to turn and run but the Vulcan was faster. Its fist crashed into the side of her body, sending her flying once more. Her fall was cut short by an icy wall. Her head made sickening cracking sound against the ice and she tumbled into the snow, tears in her lavender eyes.

Her hands were numb, her face still stung, and her vision swam from her place in the snow. _I can't give up._ She thought as the Vulcan advanced on her once more. It swayed in and out of the black pools that now clouded her vision. _I have to move. I have to stay alive for Grandma Saya, for Zazel, and for Caroline. Get up!_ She willed her body with all her strength.

"Now you are done little girl!" The Vulcan was yelling over the still swirling winds. Through the blinding white of the snow and the black pools in her vision she saw the red splotches that dripped from its fingertips and onto the snow.

"No. I can't give up here." She whispered. Despite her swimming head and throbbing, cold body she rose to her feet, clutching her head as if to bring balance to the unsteady world of her vision.

"I'm going to crush you." The Vulcan laughed hysterically suddenly. Again, to her ears the sounds made by the creature seemed unnatural and wrong. Its foot swung out; there was nothing she could do to stop it. It easily kicked her back into the wall. The air rushed from her chest as she tumbled into the snow face-down. The snow felt better than the cutting wind against her face. She groaned. Her muscles felt weak. The black dots in her vision were getting larger but still she fought to remain conscious.

"No." The word was no more than the breath of a whisper on her lips. She mustered the last of her remaining strength to push herself up, onto her hands and knees. Her head still hung low as she struggled to get a leg beneath herself. The Vulcan's foot came crashing into her side, rolling her back into the snow. She let out a scream of pain that quickly turned into a garbled gasp as the air was forced from her lungs once more.

_Grandma Saya… I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't avenge you Zazel. Caroline. _She thought. She looked up, past the face of her would-be killer, into the sky beyond. Gray clouds churned above from the blizzard. She watched the snow fall, swirling in the north wind of the mountains that she called home her entire life. Watching the snow fall was somehow peaceful to her, as if all of the sudden the stormed had calmed, the winds of the blizzard had ceased to exist, and she was lying in the snow with Zazel again, watching the sky. She smiled despite her pain. _Grandma Saya. Zazel. _Her hand twitched, as if to reach towards the sky but she had no strength left to move it. She closed her eyes slowly.

When her eyes opened again she wasn't sure how much time had passed. It could have been seconds; it could have been hours. Everything seemed slow to her. The Vulcan was still there, standing over her, talking to her, but she couldn't hear a word. She gazed past him once more, into the rolling clouds. That was when her eyes found it, the break in the storm. The clearest blue she had ever seen was visible, just a speck but it was enough. It was there, above her, directly above her but still so far away. Her hand twitched again.

The Vulcan stomped on her again. A strangled noise filled her ears though she wasn't even aware that the sound had come from her own mouth. She simply focused on that blue spot, still so far above her. The snow still fell, though it was gently now. _Grandma Saya, Zazel, Caroline, I'm coming to see you soon._ She thought as her vision faded from blue to black.

* * *

Warmth. She stirred slightly, still unaware of everything that had happened. Slowly, her eyes opened and she blinked. Blue. It seemed so familiar to her. Her body ached and breathing was hard. A water drop fell, she watched it until it landed on her forehead. _I'm in a cave_, she realized._ But there's light._ It filtered in a strange way but it was there. _The walls are made of ice._ The thought occurred to her as she reached up, moving slowly and pausing occasionally at the protests of her body, to wipe away the drop that was now rolling down the side of her forehead. The water was cold.

She couldn't hear the whistling of the wind anymore, nor could she feel its biting chill. She smiled sadly. There was nothing in this cave save a gentle humming, the warmth of the furs covering her body, and the sweet taste of life. Slowly, fighting against the pain of her chest and muscles, she sat up. She clutched her head until the brief onslaught of dizziness faded.

"You are awake, Child." The sound was clearly a voice but it reverberated through the ice cavern with power and size. She could feel the sound of it in her chest, though it did not hurt the same way moving did. Afraid of what she might find, she hesitated to look around the rest of the ice cavern. She took a deep breath and forced her body to comply.

She instantly regretted her decision. She had traded one monster for one far worse. She screamed and slid away as fast as she dared, pressing herself against the far ice wall. Panting, she tried to subtly slide her fingers along the wall in a desperate attempt to find anything she could use as a weapon against the enormous creature that sat before her. It rivaled the monster at her village in size and was as crystal-blue as the surrounding walls of ice.

_As crystal-blue, _the thought rang in her head for a moment as if it should mean something to her.

"Calm yourself, Girl." The creature said in the same rumbling voice. "I will not hurt you. If I wanted to I would have already done so." It swung its massive head towards her so their faces matched in height. Light blue eyes blinked at her quizzically.

Despite the fact that the beast said it wouldn't hurt her, the girl was not convinced. She slid down the wall and began groping through the snow for a rock, stick, or weapon of any sort. The monster continued to watch her with those large blue eyes and same quizzical expression. The girl's search ended fruitlessly. "Who are you? Why are you talking to me? What are you? Why am I here? Why I am not dead?" As soon as the first question left her mouth she couldn't stop the others from following. As soon as she had her wits about her once more she clamped her hands firmly down over her mouth as if that was going to stop her from speaking again.

The beast seemed to smile in a way, though she wasn't sure how she could tell. "I am Kayerith, the Ice Dragon Queen." She announced loudly, suddenly growing rapidly in size. Only then did the little girl realize that the creature had been lying down. "I saved you, Child." The dragon continued once it was kneeling again.

Suddenly, as if the switch on her memories had been flipped thoughts came rushing back to her. The village. The _real _monster. Zazel. Grandma Saya. The Cold. The Vulcan on the mountain side. The blizzard. The fleck of blue she had seen in the sky. "You saved me." She then repeated dumbly.

"Yes, now, Small Girl, what is you real name?" The dragon asked her.

The girl only blinked her lavender eyes at the dragon. "You save me." She repeated once more, disbelief rang in her voice. "I thought I was going to die, but you saved me." Kayerith swished the end of her tail and gave what could only be a sigh.

"Yes, I did. Now, what is your name?" She asked again sternly but not unkindly.

"Ravenna." The little girl whispered, her voice still retaining the slight hint of awe. _Why do people risk their lives to save me?_

"Ravenna what?" Kayerith pressed in a patient tone.

Tears welled up in Ravenna's eyes suddenly. "I don't know…" She admitted. Her voice was filled with such anger and sorrow that it shocked Kayerith. She wanted to pity the child that she had rescued. She wanted to comfort her but she remained silent, knowing the girl called Ravenna would continue in her own time. As Kayerith predicted the little girl wiped her own tears away a few moments later. "I only had Grandma Saya and Zazel and Caroline." She said as if that explained everything.

"Where is your Grandmother Saya?" Kayerith asked slowly. "I can take you to her."

Ravenna's expression grew dark with a mixture of hatred, rage, and pain. "No, you can't."

"Why is that?" Kayerith felt uneasy as the darkness rolling off this child.

"She was killed. She died with everyone else from my village. _It _killed them. It was a monster! As big as you, but more scary. It wasn't nice. It didn't save people." She seethed, thinking about the night her life had changed. Through Ravenna's anger Kayerith could sense the fear that was at the heart of her emotions.

"I doubt it was more frightening than I Sweet Child. What of your parents? Did they meet the same fate as this Grandmother Saya?" Kayerith asked gently.

The little girl shook her head no though her words disagreed, "I don't know." More tears found their way into her eyes. "My parents left me when I was born. Grandma Saya isn't my _real_ grandma. She just took care of me sometimes." Ravenna bit her lip, trying her hardest to stop the tears that were threatening to spill over once more.

"You are alone then?" Kayerith asked to confirm her suspicions. The little girl nodded slowly as if this realty was truly hitting her for the first time, still chewing on the corner of her lip. "How old are you sweet Winter Child?" Kayerith asked, her tone still careful and gentle.

"Six." Ravenna told her. "I think."

Kayerith's tail swished again. She sighed, "how long were you out in the cold?"

Ravenna shook her head. "I don't know." She fought desperately against the sob that had risen in her throat. "I was the only one left…" She choked on the words as a fresh wave of tears began streaming down her face. "Grandma Saya saved me. She used magic to save me." Ravenna whispered, miserable with guilt. "She'd still be here if it weren't for me." _They'd all still be here if it weren't for me._ The little girl sat there, legs crossed, and cried. She didn't try to wipe away her tears this time, she didn't try to hold them back, she just cried.

Suddenly Kayerith's tail swept around, gently pulling the child close to her. She hummed gently again. It was a deep hum, in her chest. "Hush now, sweet winter child. You do not have to be alone again." The dragon spoke quietly.

Kayerith's body was warm despite her ice-like appearance. The little girl, known only as Ravenna, snuggled closely against the dragon's side, accepting the closest thing to comfort she had had since losing everything. She found solace in the dragon's presence and cried freely until she finally drifted back into a sweet, dreamless sleep.

_Could she be the one? Could she be worthy of learning? She certainly has fight in her_. Kayerith thought as she watched the delicate little girl shift in her sleep.


	2. Memories

**Quick author's note: This is an entirely different chapter two than the one that I had written before. I decided, that while it makes the story start a little more slowing, it offers some more background on the character. Hope you don't mind! I promise it won't take TOO long to get the good stuff. Please rate and review :) End author's note.**

* * *

A single hooded figure walked through the morning mists rolling off the river. A pack was slung over feminine shoulders. There was nothing but the sound of crickets and the gentle swishing of her cloak.

* * *

"Kayerith!" She had called out upon waking up without her mentor and foster mother. "Kayerith?" She tried again when there was no response. She furrowed her brows. _She never leaves without telling me._ Raven thought as she slowly roused herself for the day. Filtered light from the ice walls guided her process, though she hardly needed it; she had become an old hand at the morning routine.

Her clothes were light despite the chill of a mountain morning. Kayerith had taught her how to embrace the cold. _An ice mage never feels the chill of ice on their skin_. It was one of the first lessons Kayerith had taught her. She cracked her knuckles, the noise echoing loudly off the walls. "Kayerith!" She called once more upon exiting the cave. Still her mentor was nowhere to be seen.

Ravenna chewed her lip, an old habit from her childhood. This was truly unlike Kayerith. "I don't understand." She said to no one in particular. _Maybe she thought she'd be back before I woke up?_ Ravenna nodded her head, as if to confirm it to herself. "I guess I'll wait before starting my drills." She bit her lip once more but sat, patiently, outside the mouth of the cave they called home.

She couldn't be sure how much time had passed but it didn't take long for her to grow restless of simply waiting. "This is ridiculous!" Raven's voice burst out to the empty mountain side. She stood and put her hands on her hips in a gesture of defiance despite being alone. "If she can't bother to show up for morning drills then I can't be bothered to do them."

As if to assert the authority that she didn't have, Raven stalked off towards the nearby stream. She knew that if Kayerith came back and found her skipping morning drills she would be furious but it wasn't fair! If Kayerith doesn't have to show up, why should she?

Raven knelt and took a long cool drink from the water. The chill of the water cooled her, calmed her. She stayed there, kneeling, feeling guilty, for some time before standing with an audible sigh. Frowning she walked back to the ice caverns and began her morning drills.

It was hard to determine exactly how long she had been practicing but the sun rose, hit its peak, and was beginning its descent when she finally quick.

"I don't understand!" She repeated, this time at a yell. "Kayerith!" She called to no avail. "Where'd you go?" She asked, more quietly.

Raven's evening was spent alone. She made dinner though little of it was actually eaten. She stirred the rabbit and potatoes around and around in circles in her bowl without taking a single bite. She sat quietly, wondering. Her mind wouldn't rest. Thoughts of terrible, tragic tales wove their way in and out of her head for hours before sleep finally found her.

Her sleep was restless and shallow and when the sun finally rose again dark circles had formed under her eyes. "Kayerith?" She called immediately with just the slightest hint of hope in her voice. Her dreams were crushed by the weight of the silence that followed.

She pursed her lips and bit back the feeling of crying. She was too old to cry now! She had turned eleven on her last birthday. Of course, neither Kayerith nor Raven knew her actual birthday, so they had simply chosen the day, at the heart of winter, when Kayerith had given her a second chance at life.

She followed the same routine she did every morning. But this time as she walked towards the mouth of the cave, she noticed something she hadn't the day before. It was there, clear as day. The scroll that would change everything.

When she opened the scroll a small necklace fell out. On the end of the chain was a small scale shaped stone. It was the same color as Kayerith's scales. Raven clutched it close to her heart as she read the words on the parchment.

Ravenna,

My sweet winter child, I must leave you now. The reason was not that I loved you too little; I love you just as purely and fervently as any mother loves their child. But understand that my task here, in this world, was to teach you, to do well by you, and to see that your life became better. Don't be frightened and sad because I am not coming back anymore. Learn, my child. To you, life was a serious matter from early on. It is hard, never forget that. But you must also remember how to smile.

I wanted to know you for longer, but it simply wasn't to be. Know that our time together has left an imprint on my heart and no matter where I go, you will be with me. What does a mother wish for her daughter? I wish you happiness above all else. Ravenna, do not come looking for me. I'm afraid I've left you with too much already. Go out into this world and live the life I know you were meant to have. Go out and play the world your Wintersong.

Love,

Kayerith

Tears streamed down her face as she read and re-read and letter that Kayerith had left for her. _How could you? How could you leave me?_ The same raw ache that she had felt before opened up in her chest again. _You promised. You said I didn't have to be alone anymore._ Hours passed and tears fell, dripping onto the parchment and smearing the ink. She clutched the letter close to her heart. _Why didn't you take me with you?_ She asked over and over again.

Suddenly a thought occurred to her. She stood quickly and wiped the tears from her face, though more replaced them, her heart began to ease. _I can follow her_. Raven threw what few belongings she had into a pack and rolled up her sleeping pad. She mounted it on her shoulders and took off, away from the cave that she had called home for some many years.

"Take me with you!" She called into the afternoon sun. "I'm coming too! Don't leave without me!" She darted off, not evening knowing if she was heading in the right direction.

* * *

On occasion other sounds would filter in through the woods but the woman paid them no mind. Her thoughts were occupied elsewhere. She was in a place, from years past, reliving the memory that fueled her. Gently, mindlessly, she touched the front left pocket of her pants. She felt the smooth feel of parchment under her fingertips. _Don't worry Kayerith. I will find you._

For the first time in a long time Raven was pulled from her thoughts back to the present day. She wasn't far from the city now, maybe a mile or so. She hoped her information was accurate. If Salamander truly was a Dragon Slayer too she had to talk to him. He might know something about Kayerith and thus far everyone she been to see had been a fake.

She clenched her fists. He _had_ to be the real thing. She didn't know what she would do if he wasn't. She was out of places to look and leads to follow.

As the path brought her closer to the city she looked up. The sky was cloudless, a rich blue, as pure and endless as the perfect summer sky. But if truth be told, it all paled in comparison to the beauty of Kayerith's scales. Raven touched the necklace that hadn't left her neck since the day she had found it, all wrapped up tight in the scroll.

She walked over the final hill and below sat the wonderful city of Magnolia, just starting to stir in the morning light. _So this is it. _


	3. Where is Natsu?

**Quick author's note: I promise the other characters are coming soon! I just wanted to give you guys a taster of Raven without them around. Hopefully you don't mind too much! End author's note.**

* * *

Despite the early hour, the massive wooden doors of the guild hall were held wide open. The noises of chatter flowed out into the street where she stood. Raven stood for a moment, watching the laughter and banter that flowed so easily between guild mates in the hall. Somewhere inside her she felt a pang of jealousy.

Raven's hood had stayed up throughout her trek through the city and now was going to be no different. Tugging gently on the black fabric of her hood just to be sure, she then entered the room. Silent as a ghost she slipped along the back wall to the very end of the bar-like counter. No one seemed to notice her enter the room.

She waited patiently, tucked behind a support pillar and out of sight, until the bustling girl behind the counter was close enough to hear her without drawing too much attention from other prying ears.

"Excuse me." She called out quietly. "I'm looking for the Salamander." She hoped that her voice conveyed the urgency of her words. The woman behind the counter seemed startled at the unfamiliar voice calling out to her. She turned towards Raven, tossing long, white hair over her shoulder and looked at her with strikingly blue eyes.

"I'm sorry. Natsu isn't here right now. Perhaps someone else from our guild could help you?" The girl that Raven now recognized as the famously beautiful wizard Mirajane Strauss was smiling kindly at her.

Raven clenched her fists in frustration under her cloak. Perhaps her words hadn't been as obvious as she had hoped. "No, but thank you," her voice was curt. "I'm looking for him and him only." _So he can help me find Kayerith. _Raven was certain that she had spoken more harshly than she intended but she continues without fault anyway. "Where can I find him?"

Mirajane frowned. "I'm sorry, I can't tell you that." _Dammit Salamander._ For the first time a look of concern crossed Mirajane's face. "Are you okay?" Raven suddenly realized that her fists were still clenched and her arms were beginning to shake with the effort.

Quickly she turned away from Mirajane and began heading back towards the main door of the guild hall. _If he is not here today I will simply come back tomorrow_. "Who are you?" Mirajane asked her quietly. Raven paused and turned her head back slightly.

"That doesn't concern you." Her voice was calm, almost deadpan, compared to her previous tones of frustration. She continued walking towards the door in the same way she had entered, along the wall.

"Wait!" Mirajane's voice rang out through the guild hall, drawing the attention of several guild mates. Raven hesitated for only step before continuing out the door into the city.

"Who was that Mira?" She could hear people asking. Raven never heard whether or not Mirajane answered them, but she could feel Mira's eyes on her back until she was finally out of sight.

* * *

Raven spent the most of her morning wondering aimlessly through the city. She saw fountains and churches, plazas and monuments, bridges and sculptures, but few of them stayed with her. Her mind was wrapped in thoughts regarding the elusive Salamander.

This was the fourth time she had tried to find him. She had followed his trail from one city to the next in an attempt to catch him but he had always been one step ahead of her.

She wondered another corner and found her herself outside of a small inn. There was what appeared to be a wooden medallion painted in faded colors on a wooden sign hanging over the front window. _My shoulders are getting tired_, she thought adjusting her heavy pack. Slowly, she pushed open the glass front wooden door .She jumped slightly as a soft bell chimed gently to announce her presence to the room.

"Why hello there," an elderly man called out in a chirper voice. "What can I do for you? Need a room or have you simply come in search of a hot meal? Martha makes the best shepherd's pie in town." For the first time since her arrival to Magnolia, Raven pulled back her hood. Thick, black hair, true to her name cascaded out.

"Both sound wonderful." She said with a small smile that didn't quiet reach her eyes. "I don't know how long I will need my room though." She said, showing concern.

"That's no problem at all dear." He smiled and Raven saw that he lacked a significant number of his teeth. He reached back and pulled an old silver key from the wall. "This is for you. We charge two thousand a night." Raven exchanged the key with her money and quietly went to the room designated as hers without making eye contact with anyone in the meager crowd.

Raven spent the rest of her day reading. Reading had quickly become one of her favorite past times after Kayerith had taught her the letters. The story she was engrossed in now was an adventure novel filled with both action and romance. She had found that reading was one of the few times that she truly allowed herself to be at ease. She let her emotions run freely and allowed herself to become attached to those in the story, something she hadn't been able to do in real life for seven years.

* * *

The following morning Raven made her way through the city of Magnolia back to the famed Fairy Tail guild hall. Raven observed for a moment, looking for someone that might be the Salamander among the members in the hall. She didn't see anyone that stood out as a particularly powerfully wizard.

Raven's hood was up again though unlike yesterday she wasn't deliberately trying to stay out of sight. "I'm looking for Salamander." She said as soon as she approached the counter. Mirajane was behind the counter once more and began her response before looking to see who she was talking to. "I'm sorry, Natsu isn't –"Mira's voice cut off when she saw the same cloaked figure that had visited their guild the day prior. "Why are you looking for Natsu?" Her question held both concern and determination.

"Why I'm looking for him doesn't really concern you." Raven snapped again. She hadn't necessarily meant to upset Mirajane, although it was clear that she had. She just truly believed that this had nothing to do with Mirajane. She only wanted to keep her identity as a Dragon Slayer unknown. Mirajane frowned again, similar to the day before.

"Well, I can't tell you." Mirajane turned up her nose slightly and put her hands on her hips defiantly. "If that's all you wanted then you have your answer. I think you should go."

"You don't understand!" Raven's fist slammed down onto the counter top. She clenched her teeth together in frustration. _How can I make her understand without telling her who I am_? Other members in the guild began paying closer attention at her outburst. "I need to find him." _I need to find Kayerith_.

"Who is that Mira? Are they bothering you?" A woman with long brown hair and a mug in hand that had been sitting down the bar sauntered over to them. "Look, I don't know who you are, and honestly, I don't particularly care. But, if you have a problem with Mira then you have a problem with me too." Her expression was clearly hostile.

"Cana –"Mira gasped, as if surprised by her guild mate's gesture.

Raven was getting ready to open her mouth to say something between a surrender and sarcastic comment when another voice cut her off. "Mirajane!" The voice rang out across the guild hall and suddenly, everyone was quiet. Raven could see the small, seemingly elderly man sitting cross-legged on the counter. Her eyes were closed and his head tilted down.

"Yes, Master?" Mira answered immediately with a slight bow. Raven was aware of all the eyes on her and Mirajane now.

"Who's our guest?" He asked causally.

"I'm afraid I don't know." Mira admitted.

"I'm looking for the Fairy Tail wizard known as Salamander." Raven announced. Her voice was stiff, as if she was uncomfortable with all the eyes on her. She hadn't wanted to draw nearly this much attention. She knew that this man could only be Makarov Dreyar, the Master of the Fairy Tail guild and one of the Ten Wizard Saints.

"Ah, I see." He paused, as if lost in thought for a moment. Everyone stood awkwardly, unsure if he was going to say more. "The wizard you seek is named Natsu Dragneel. He is currently on a mission. If you wish to seek him out you will have to head to Galuna Island.

"Master –"Mirajane started in protest.

"It's okay Mira. If this visitor mean Natsu harm, have no fear, he is with Erza, Gray, and Lucy. If not, knowing his where-abouts should cause no harm either. In addition to that, she'd have to be brave enough to face Galuna Island." Master Makarov's eyes were still closed. He had not looked up once since he had gotten involved in the conversation. Mira thought for a moment but said no more on the matter.

Raven stood in silence for a moment, trying to process what she had heard. This wizard called the Salamander had gone to Galuna Island. _If he's gone to Galuna he must certainly be as powerful as I've heard._ Galuna Island was a haunted place, cursed even. Suddenly she realized she was still standing in the guild hall, everyone staring at her. Her response was rushed and stuttered. "Th-thank you." She mumbled before turning and exiting with nothing but the swish of her cloak.

Raven's walk back to the inn was slow as she thought. _I have to follow him to Galuna Island._ She chewed her lip. _But, it's cursed. _"Don't be stupid Raven!" She declared aloud, drawing strange looks from passersby. _Why am I so scared of an island? _In truth, Raven had no idea why she feared the island, only that stories of demons had been told for some time. _That's ridiculous! I'm a wizard. There are no demons left for me to fear. _

She pushed open the door to the inn and was only vaguely aware that the inn keep had smiled at her. She climbed the stairs to her room and gather the few belongings she had pulling from her bag and shoved them back in unceremoniously. She hefted the bag back onto her worn shoulders and left a tip for the inn keeper. _Galuna Island here I come._


	4. Loke

**Quick Author's note: just as a physical description, Raven is about 5 foot 5 with fairly pale skin even though she spends a lot of time in the sun. She is fairly curvy but not overly so (similar to Lucy or Erza). She has long, thick black hair that is relatively straight but has some wave to it. Her eyes are lavender colored and often described as pretty and unique. Her frame is also muscular from her travels and all the walking she does. There is a horizontal scar on her left arm. End Author's Note.**

* * *

"Attention passengers awaiting the one pm train to Hargeon," a voice called over the speaker system of the Magnolia train station. Raven looked up from her book she had been engulfed in. "Due to a technical difficulty the train has been delayed two hours. We apologize for any inconvenience." Raven frowned.

"Man, this sucks!" A young boy about her age complained to his companion.

"No kidding! Wanna grab some lunch from here then?" his friend responded. The boy nodded and the two disappeared into the throng of people attempting to find their platforms.

_I supposed I should find something to eat here too._ Raven stood and tucked her book back into her pack before loading it back onto her shoulders. Weaving her way through the crowd and out of the train station wasn't too terribly difficult. She stepped out into the bright Magnolia sunshine. With a hand shielding her eyes, she looked up and down the street but didn't see a restaurant of any sort.

_I guess it's back into the city._ She thought as she made her way towards what she thought was the area of downtown Magnolia. Soon enough Raven was standing in a plaza with a large fountain in the center. People milled about, sitting on the fountain ledge and admiring the sculpture that was spurting water in the middle. She frowned, noticing the distinct lack of restaurants. _What is with this city? Is there no where to get food?_ She sighed.

"Excuse me." She said to a couple sitting on the ledge of the fountain. The boy looked up first. His glasses glinted off the sun, blinding her for a moment. "I was wondering if there are any restaurants nearby." She said. The boy stood up. He was taller than Raven had expected.

"Sure, I'll take you there." He said in a nonchalant way. The girl he had been with glared murderously at Raven.

"I-What? No. I just wanted to know where one is." Raven shook her head in shock and confusion.

"Don't worry about it." The boy winked at her. "I couldn't miss an opportunity to take a beautiful girl to lunch." He grinned. Raven was too shocked and surprised to response.

"But Loke –"the girl still sitting on the fountain edge started to complain. He ignored her and starting walking away.

Raven stood there, dumbfounded about what had just happened. "You coming or not?" The boy named Loke called over his shoulder with a wave. Raven looked back at the girl, who had risen and seemed livid, and quickly decided that following the orange haired boy was a better than staying here.

"So, what's your name? Are you just passing through?" He asked her as soon as she caught up with him.

"I-What just happened?" Raven asked, ignoring his questions.

"What? With Kimiko? Don't worry about it." He said with a shrug in the same nonchalant tone he had been using earlier. His hand slipped from his jacket pocket and gently pushed his glasses up.

"Who are you?" Raven asked, still unsure as to why she was following him.

"Name's Loke." He said with a devastating grin. "And your's my fair lady?" Raven felt a blush creeping up her cheeks. She willed it away with all her strength but he had that same devastating smile on his face, watching her expectantly.

"I'm Raven." She introduced herself quietly, intentionally skipping over her full name. "And yes, I'm just passing through Magnolia."

"Hmm… Where are you heading then?" He asked, still walking, weaving his way through the streets like a pro.

"I'm heading to Har –" She stopped herself suddenly suspicious. "Why do you care?" Her tone grew serious abruptly and her body language shifted defensively. The boy calling himself Loke gave her an odd sideways glance.

"Just making conversion," he shrugged. Raven relaxed instantly. _I'm being ridiculous. There's no way he's going to find me again. Especially not here. _She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. _He probably doesn't even care anymore_.

"I'm sorry." She said. He looked at her again.

"For?"

"I don't know." She said, realizing that she didn't really know why she was apologizing to this complete stranger.

"Here we are!" Loke announced triumphantly. "Ladies first," he said reaching for the door. Raven stood and actually looked around her surroundings for the first time in a while. The building that they were standing outside of was a rundown dive of a building. Green paint was chipping off the wooden exterior. The A in the word Ramen had fallen off completely and was now leaning against the store front. Loke must have seen her expression.

He smiled. "It's much better than it looks, now come on, ladies first." He gestured for her to go through the door into the dully light shop. Raven hesitated then walked in with a sigh.

"Don't worry; I take a lot of my first dates here." Loke whispered in her ear behind her.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" She asked, trying to suppress the chill that went through her when his breath hit her neck. "Wait, first date!" She realized suddenly. "I don't even know you!" She turned on him, anger flashing in her eyes.

The same gorgeous smile was on his face. He laughed when he saw her expression. "You're cute when you're mad." He laughed even harder when her expression grew angrier. Before she could open her mouth to yell at this creep he threw his hands up. "Calm down, I'm teasing princess." He shoved his hands back into his pockets but the smirk remained.

Raven fumed for a few moments. _Why am I even still here? This guy is a jerk and a creep. But I mean… He did offer to take me all the way to a restaurant, even when he was already busy with someone. That was nice of him I suppose. _

"Hey Chef!' Loke called into the shop when no one came forth after the bell over the door rang. It didn't take long for a short man to come streaming out of a doorway near the back of the tiny shop waving a wooden spoon through the air.

Raven gave Loke a skeptical look. He did nothing but give her another wink.

"Come, come, sit, this way, this way." The man with the spoon gestured using the utensil. Raven followed Loke's lead and sat at a small table near the front window. Loke ordered 'the usual' and the man disappeared.

With her pack tucked carefully under her chair, Raven sat in silence, looking everywhere but at the orange haired boy across from her. Loke did the exact opposite; he leaned his elbows on the table and crossed his hands, watching her.

"Tell me about yourself." Loke said after a long silence.

"There's nothing to tell." Raven responded, perhaps a bit too quickly.

"Ah, fine, fine, I'll let you keep your secrets." There was something in his smirk that Raven thought meant otherwise but she didn't say anything. "You know, you have beautiful eyes." Loke said again after she didn't respond. Raven instantly felt her cheeks flush again.

"What?" She said stupidly, angry that she had let this stranger's comments affect her. He seemed unfazed by her behavior.

"Your eyes, they are a beautiful lavender shade." He repeated his compliment with different words. Raven's eyes narrowed suddenly, her mind jumping back to his 'all my first dates' comment.

"Do you say that to all your first dates?" She retorted. He smirked.

"You catch on fast." He grinned. "But really, you do." There was such a sudden seriousness and sadness in his voice that Raven somehow thought he meant it.

Their food came and went. They talked throughout the entire meal, though Raven was careful to never give out more information than was needed. Loke smiled at all the right times, said all the right things, and was over all incredibly charming. But there points throughout the meal where he'd become suddenly reflective and serious. When she finally looked at the clock again she jumped up.

"I have to go!" Her voice was slightly panicked. "I have to catch the train at three!" She reached for her wallet, in her pocket. Loke reached across the table and put his hand on her arm. She froze at his touch and blushed again.

"Don't worry Princess, I've got you covered." He took out his own wallet and placed enough money to cover both meals on the table.

"I-You don't-Please-I" She stuttered for a moment.

"Don't mention it." Loke said with a smile.

"Thank you."

"If I don't see you again it can be a kind gesture to a beautiful stranger. If I do, you can pay me back then somehow." He winked at her again as he headed for the door. "See ya Chef!" He called into the backroom.

The bell rang and he held the door for Raven as they exited. _As much as he's an arrogant jerk, he's also a gentleman. _

"How do you-"Raven started to ask.

"Down this street, take a left. Three more streets down, a right and you'll see the station at the end of the road." He said before she could finish. "I'll be seeing you Raven." He called over his shoulder as he started to walk away.

"How do you know?" Raven asked. He didn't respond to her question, just gave her one of those knowing winks and kept walking.

"Bye Loke." Raven whispered before turning to scurry to the train station before her train left without her.


	5. Hargeon

Raven rushed back into the train station and through the groups of mingling people waiting for their own trains to the platform that she had been waiting at before. Sure enough a train was there. "Is this the one o'clock train to Hargeon?" She asked someone nearby.

The man shrugged unhelpfully. Raven frowned in frustration but boarded the train anyway. _What's the worst that can happen if it's not? I can just change trains at the next station_. She found an empty bench near one of the ends of the cars and rested her pack on the bench next to her.

It didn't take long for the train to lurch to life and pull out of the station. It was only a moment after the train was moving that Raven's stomach turned. _Oh god! Not now!_ Her face paled and she clutched her stomach.

Slowly she pulled her legs up and curled into a ball in her seat. Her eyes were clamped firmly shut but still she could feel the train moving. With every lurch, jolt, or rock of the train her stomach did the same. _I shouldn't have eaten lunch!_ _I don't know why I always think it will be different. _

Raven's train ride continued in much the same fashion that all of her train rides had been. With her clutching her stomach while moaning and trying not to defile the red train seats. She vaguely acknowledged an attendant walking by and speaking to her but her mind was too focused on attempting to keep her lunch where it was.

Eventually, far too much time later, the train rolled to a stop."Mmmmm" Raven moaned pathetically without moving from her seat. People walked off the train and soon she was the only one left on the car.

"Excuse me, Miss?" A hand gently shook her shoulder.

"Uhh… Don't do that!" She mumbled while trying to suppress another wave of nausea.

"Are you alright?" The voice sounded masculine and concerned. Raven still hadn't opened her eyes so she didn't know who was shaking her.

She moaned, "motion sickness" in response, still unwilling to open her eyes to the harsh light of day.

"I'm terribly sorry Miss, I was just letting you know that we have arrived at Hargeon." The voice sounded unsure. "Please, take your time, but we must begin boarding for our trip back to Magnolia soon." The source of the voice lingered for a moment but when Raven didn't respond or move he sighed and walked away.

Slowly, after her world had stopped shaking, she delicately rose and slung her pack over her shoulders. As soon as her feet touched solid ground she felt instantly better.

"Now that's more like it!" She said with a deep breath. Raven traveled mostly by foot, only in extreme circumstances did she take a vehicle anywhere. They made her so ill that she couldn't stand long trips. She had had motion sickness for as long as she could remember.

The train station in Hargeon was larger than the one in Magnolia. Being a common tourist destination, the station was crowded with people that were coming to and leaving the city. _It shouldn't be too hard to find the docks_. She thought as she wondered through the station and onto the streets.

She was right, the docks weren't hard to find. A massive port stretched out over the ocean that she could see from just outside the station. _It's warmer here._ Despite the ocean breeze Hargeon was warmer than Magnolia had been, with her cloak on the weather was uncomfortable. Outside the station Raven located a bench where she could stop for a moment.

She rested her pack on the bench and unclipped her cloak from her shoulders. Beneath her clothes were relatively simply. She wore blue jean pants with a black tank top. Her necklace hung loosely around her neck and she carefully tucked it into her shirt, out of sight.

With her cloak rolled and back in her pack she began the trip down to the docks to find a way to get to Galuna Island. The sunlight glistened off the water. She understood why Hargeon was such a common destination. Of all the cities she had been to, she had somehow missed the large port city of Hargeon.

"I wonder if I can find a ship to Galuna that will take me tonight." Raven thought aloud as she walked. At the mention of the cursed island of Galuna passersby whispered and gave her strange, skeptical looks. She ignored them all flawlessly.

The moment she reached the docks she looked around and loudly announced, "I'd like to book a ship to Galuna Island!" No one so much as glanced at her. They were busy bustling to and fro with crates and boxes and ropes. Raven frowned.

_I guess I will try to another option_. "I'd like to book a ship to Galuna Island." She said to the nearest sailor that seemed at least relatively free.

He looked up from his knots and gave her a look that said she was crazy. "I'm sorry little lady. We aren't heading out that way. No one is. That island is cursed." He shook his head at her before going back to his knots.

"I have to find someone to talk me there." She insisted, as if that explained everything he would ever need to know.

"Well, I'm sorry but we aren't going." He went back to his knots again. Raven stood there. She beat down the urge to threaten him into taking her to Galuna Island.

It was a moment before she spoke again. "I need to get there. And I need to get there tonight." Her voice no longer held to hint of kindness that it had before.

"You're still here?" The sailor asked with irritation. "You'll have to find someone else because we aren't going." He got up from the crate he was resting on and walked away, back onto the nearby ship. Raven glared after him.

"Fine, I will find someone else, and I will pay them double what I would have paid you." She mumbled angrily under her breath.

Three docks over Raven found another individual that was packing a crate with straw. "Excuse me," she said from behind him. He jumped at the sound of her voice and turned. "I'd like to book passage to Galuna Island, preferably as soon as possible."

"We don't go into Galuna waters Miss." The sailor responded immediately. He was given her a look very similar to the one that the previous sailor had given her.

"It's of the utmost urgency." She stressed. The man shrugged at her.

"There's nothing I can do, captain's orders."

"Do you know who I could ask?" She said with only a hint of frustration. The man shook his head.

"I can't think o' anyone that would want to go there."

"But I need to get there!"

The man shrugged again, "sorry I couldn't help." The man turned back to his straw.

Raven growled in frustration as she walked away from him. She was so close to _finally_ speaking to the Salamander and no one would help her get there. She walked from dock to dock, asking for a ship for hiring, she bribed, she threatened, she lied, she even made up a dramatic sob story but no one would help her, some even cursed her for wanting to go to Galuna as if she was somehow related to the curse surrounding the Island.

"Fine!" She screamed after she had been turned away for was seemed like the thousandth time. Her voice was load enough to draw the attention of nearly all the surrounding docks. "I guess all you cowards will make this difficult!" She growled to them all. Slowly she removed her pack from her back and set it gingerly on the dock she was standing on. As soon as the pack was down she started her spell. "Ice-Make Dragon Wings!" She shouted, casting the spell with both hands as she was taught by Kayerith.

Instantly people jumped back as the air filled with a blue glow. Enormous icy dragon-like wings erupted from Raven's back. "She's a wizard" She heard "She can't possibly think she can fly." "She must be crazy thinking she can fly all the way to that island!" "That's magic!" "It looks like ice." Raven heard all the voices echoing around her. The people of Hargeon would be talking about this for some time to come she realize. _Just wait till they see me fly_. A confident smirk spread across her face. She did little to try to stop it. If there was one thing Raven loved it was proving people they were wrong about her.

Raven grabbed her pack up from the dock and darted towards the end of the dock at a full sprint. As soon as she hit the end she leapt from the dock and felt her icy dragon wings begin beating around her.

"She's actually flying!" The onlookers from the docks exclaimed as she darted through the air with her pack hanging in her arms. She spun in a small circle to give the on lookers a better look at her wings before beginning her journey away from Hargeon and towards Galuna Island.

_This is going to take more magical energy than I wanted to use, but I have to get there somehow. Here I come, Salamander! _


	6. What's Going On On Galuna Island?

**Quick Author's note: Really sorry it took longer than normal to update this chapter! School got kinda crazy this week (lots of tests and quizzes) and I wanted to re-watch this episode to make sure everything was right! Let me know if you guys are liking it so far! I'm going to try to post the next chapter pretty quickly (Hopefully tonight or tomorrow) :) End Author's note.**

* * *

It was the quiet hour of twilight, when both the sun and the moon were visible in the sky, when the island finally came into view. Raven smiled; the taste of victory finally ripe in her mouth. She was so close to the goal that she had been chasing for months. She poured more energy into her wings, forcing them to fly faster. Despite the boost in speed it was still dark when she was finally hovering over the sands of Galuna Island.

_The light seems weird here._ She thought gazing around the Island. _Almost… purple._ Raven looked up to the moon and sure enough a purple haze clung to the light of the moon. _A weird atmospheric thing?_ _Maybe this is why people think the island is cursed._ Raven suddenly felt better being on the supposedly cursed Island now that she had determined at the odd light of the island was what had started the rumors. _Now… where do I go?_

Raven realized she had no idea where to even begin looking for the Salamander on the island. She looked up and down the area of visible beach, absently chewing on her lip as she thought. _I guess I just choose a direction._ She shrugged and flew north along the beach. She was squinting at the tree line when she saw the small path that lead into the jungle-esk foliage of the island.

"Finally!" She grinned, not even considering the possibility that this wasn't the right way. She flew closer to the tops of the trees in order to keep a closer watch on the winding jungle path. It didn't take long before she found what she thought she had been looking for. A massive wooden gate stretched before her.

"Hello!" She called out to the gate, careful to keep enough distance for her to be able to flee should whatever was beyond the gate prove dangerous. She hovered, wanting for a response. When none came she started to call out again and a head over one of the massive wooden logs.

"Who goes there?" The voice called out.

"I'm looking for the Fairytail wizards!" She called back, remembering that the Fairytail guild master had said the Dragon Slayer was not alone on Galuna Island.

"They aren't here right now!" The voice called back. "Are you a friend of theirs?" They asked cautiously.

Raven thought carefully about her answer for a moment before responding. "Yes, I am." She lied. _It's really only a half lie, I only want to talk with them so I'm not really an enemy._ She justified to herself. "My name is Raven." There was no immediate response to her name.

Finally someone called out, a different voice than before. "We want to see your emblem!" Raven sighed, afraid this would happen.

"I'm not a member of Fairytail. I'm simply looking for a friend of mine that came here with the Fairytail wizards." She tried to remember the name they had used for the Dragon Slayer but had no luck. It started with an N and that was all she could remember. Again there was silence from the far side of the gate, until suddenly the large doors creaked open. Relieved Raven flew inside what appeared to be a local tribal village. She alighted on the ground gracefully, though exhaustion hit her now that she was no longer in the air. _The flight sapped more energy than I realized_.

"She's a monster too!" A voice cried out from the crowd of hooded figures. "No she's not, she's a wizard, like the others." Another responded. "How do you know!" The first snapped, dejected. Raven smiled halfheartedly, realizing what her ice wings must make her look like to someone unfamiliar with them.

The villagers that stood before her were all wrapped in heavy cloaks that covered their entire bodies despite the warm weather of the island. She frowned. One of the cloaked figures stepped forward.

"We are glad for the help of your Fairytail wizard friends, but they are not in the village at the moment. They've gone to destroy the moon!" The figure had the voice of an elderly man and Raven recognized it as the same voice that had asked to see her emblem. _Destroy the moon?_

"What do you mean they are going to destroy the moon?" Raven asked with a lack wit expression.

"As we explained to them, the light of the purple moon is what is cursing out people. They've gone to destroy the moon to lift out curse, like our job requested." The elder explained casually. _Surely these Fairytail wizards can't be that stupid, but at least the purple light wasn't my imagination. _

"Your curse? You mean the fact that the moon is purple?" Raven asked skeptically, already preparing a speech about how certain things in the air could make the light appear purple and it wasn't in fact a curse. Suddenly though, the old man ripped off his cloak to reveal a blue body covered in flaky scales and horns with clawed hands. Many of the other villagers followed suit. It took all of her self-control to not shy away from the beasts that were standing before her. Despite her discipline her eyes betrayed her.

"You see!" The old man cried. "Even a powerful wizard such as yourself shies away from us. This is why the moon _must _be destroyed!"

"Wh-where did the Fairytail wizards go?" Raven asked quietly, trying to process what was going on on Galuna Island.

"I don't know, they left this morning and haven't been back." The man, whom Raven had now determined was the village leader, said matter-of-factly.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Raven growled, suddenly angry. She had come so far, she had thought she was finally going to find Salamander, and yet again they were slipping through her fingers as soon as they were within reach. _Kayerith_. She thought wishfully.

"We don't know where they went." The man repeated as if she were dumb. The elderly man shrugged. "They are devising a way to destroy the moon!" He shrieked suddenly.

Raven took a deep breath, trying to fight the urge to hit this unhelpful creature. "Yes, thank you." She rubbed her temples in an attempt to fend off the coming headache. "I suppose I will go find them." Before the man could respond she leapt back into the sky, leaving her bag behind in the village.

Raven was exhausted, she had woken early and used much of her magical energy, yet still she flew.

Raven continued to rub her temples as she flew higher into the air. _Stupid. You can't just destroy the moon. Surely, SURELY, these wizards aren't that dense. I hope… _Raven opened her eyes and the minute she did she noticed the concentrated beam of purple light. She squinted at it. _That's… not normal._ She thought as she flew in the direction of the light. She was able to fly much faster without the weight of her pack dragging her down and in less than a minute she landed near the source of the light.

Raven was surrounded by what appeared to be old temple ruins. She was on one of the mountains on the island. From her spot behind a broken ledge she could see a group of individuals standing around the purple light in a circle. There arms were linked and there was the low mumble of chanting. _What in the hell is going on on this island! The villagers didn't mention this._ Raven squatted, watching, and let her ice-dragon wings dissipate from her back.

On the far side of the chanters, four members stood apart from the others surrounding the purple light. A woman with pink hair was talking with someone wearing a large, horned helmet. _I can't hear them_. Raven frowned but remained where she was, watching.

"I've had enough of this sneaking around business!" A voice yelled from the far end of the ruins. Just beyond the small group Raven had been eyeing someone leapt onto a broken wall. A huge plume of fire erupted from his mouth with a roar. _The Salamander_. "It's not the villagers! We're the intruders you're after!" He stood upon the ledge of broken wall grinning. Suddenly a blonde girl stood up from behind the wall he was standing on.

There was a brief exchange of words between the two groups that Raven couldn't hear. "Say what?" The Salamander screamed before jumping from the ledge and charging the man wearing the helmet. Another boy leapt from behind the ledge and joined the Dragon Slayer in his reckless charge. Raven cocked her head to the side in surprise. _Not what I expected._

"Stop this crazy ceremony right now!" The black-haired boy charging with the Salamander yelled before ice erupted from his hands. Raven stood, shocked. _He's an ice wizard too. Is he also a dragon slayer? Could he possibly know Kayerith? I didn't know other ice-make wizards existed._

The helmeted man immediately retaliated, throwing his own spell at the ice wizard. Ice poured from his circle as well."What the hell." Raven whispered as she stood watching the exchange of ice wizards. There ice meet and climbed each other's up before shattering into hundreds of little crystals.

The two wizards stopped fighting. _They're talking._ Raven realized suddenly. _They know each other._ She pieced together from their body language. _I need to hear what they are saying! _

Raven left the safety of her hiding spot on the far side of the chanting people to creep closer through the ruins. Luckily, everyone seemed too focused on the fighting wizards to notice the shadow moving through the ruins. She skirted around the eerily chanting group and found a place behind a nearby wall where she could hear the voices.

Raven's foot crunched on something has she crept up to the wall. She looked down to see bunches of ice crystals scattered around the ground. She grinned and quickly gathered as many of the crystals that were within reach in her arms. _This is too perfect!_ She began shoving the ice in her mouth and within seconds she could feel her magical energy refilling.

"Why would you revive Deliora?" The boy with black haired asked the helmeted man angrily as she shoved another chunk of ice into her mouth.

"Deliora." His voice echoed in her head. It pounded against her skull. "Deliora." It was _him._ She couldn't move. "Deliora." Only this time it wasn't the black-haired boy's voice saying the name it was Grandma Saya. "Deliora! You cannot have my children!" Grandma Saya had screamed. And suddenly Raven's mind was back in a place she thought she had forgotten.


	7. Grandma Saya

**Quick Author's note: This offers a glimpse into Raven's memories. I plan on dispersing them through out the story so you can have an idea of what she went through before and where/what she has been doing since Kayerith left her seven years ago! There's so present day stuff at the end. Let me know what you think so far! It's always nice to have feedback. Also, I will try to get the next chapter up in the next day or two. End author's note**

* * *

Snow swirled gently through the air as it so often did this far north. "Grandma Saya!" Ravenna called happily. "I built a snowman!" She laughed and bounced happily around her snow creation as if she was dancing with it.

Her breath puffed visibly in the air as she laughed. "It's beautiful darling." The elderly woman known as Grandma Saya smiled at the child gently. "Now why don't you come inside and get warm? You've been outside for hours."

"I like the cold." Ravenna smiled up at the elderly woman before looking down at her bare, pink fingers.

"What have I told you about wearing mittens?" Grandma Saya chastised gently.

"I don't like mittens." Ravenna held up her hands and wiggled her fingers. "I can't use my fingers in them." She said this with a straight face.

"I know, I know. You've always been a winter child. Even still, it would make _me_ feel better." Grandma chuckled at the seriousness on the little girl's face. Ravenna thought for a moment before nodding consent.

"Alright, I'll come in. Promise." She clasped her hands behind her back and gave her most sincere smile. Grandma Saya nodded her approval and headed into the tiny cottage that she called home.

As soon as the door closed behind her Ravenna turned back to her snowman. "I'll back out to play later, Mom." Raven whispered to the snowman she had created, suddenly imagining it was the parent she had never known. She hugged her snowman gently, careful not to damage it. Somewhere, in the deepest part of her heart, she was disappointed that the snowman hadn't reached out to hug her back. She sighed, looking longingly at the snowman before turning and running to Grandma Saya's house.

There were two other children inside, sitting on a bench not far from the fire. Grandma Saya wasn't biologically related to any of the children in the house but she had made it a point to offer all the orphans of their village shelter, particularly during the winter months.

"There's water boiling on the fire. We are having your favorite for dinner tonight." Grandma Saya announced when she heard the door close behind Raven. Raven lingered by the door, pulling off her boots. Her face lit up with joy.

"Is it hazelnut soup?" She asked once her boots had been removed. She ran over to the fire and stretched her hands out over the flames.

"Indeed," Grandma Saya nodded from her cutting block at the counter. Raven grinned. Her hands begun to sting as the fire's warmth seeped back into them but it passed quickly.

"I like hazelnut soup too." A small blonde girl said from the bench across the fire. She was younger and smaller than Ravenna.

"Don't worry, I'll share Caroline." Ravenna smiled gently at her. Unlike her, Caroline and her brother Zazel, who was the same age as Raven, had lost their parents several years before. Raven couldn't remember them but Caroline assured her that they had been loving and kind. When Caroline talked of their parents Zazel always remained quiet. She wasn't sure why but he would never speak of them, even when prompted.

It was hard sometimes, listening to Caroline talk about her mother and father. Ravenna often felt jealous of her opportunity to know her parents. Sometimes she wondered if that made losing them harder though. Ravenna hadn't truly lost her parents because she had never known who they were. No seemed to know who they were, only that she had appeared in the village one day as an infant and Grandma Saya had started caring for her then.

"Thank you." Caroline whispered, looking at her shoes. Zazel hugged the small girl closer to keep her warm. She coughed lightly. Caroline had gotten sick a week ago was still wasn't feeling well. She couldn't seem to quite get over her cough.

The three children sat quietly near the fire, waiting for Grandma Saya to finish preparing their meal. Raven watched the fire as it climbed and twisted. Her mind, as if so often did, wondered to magic, and what it would be like to command a force such as fire. Often Zazel and Raven would play wizard in the snow together.

The sound of bells ringing pulled her from her daydream. "Why are the bells ringing?" Zazel demanded to know, immediately sitting up straight.

"Hush now child." Grandma Saya shushed him gently. "I'm sure it's nothing but I will go check just to be safe. You children stay here." Grandma Saya seemed surprised by the sound of their village's emergency bells. Something was clearly troubling her as she left the small cottage.

As soon as the door closed behind her Ravenna turned her attention to Zazel and Caroline. "What do you think is going on?" She asked them.

Zazel stood and pulled Caroline to her feet as well. "I don't know." His words seemed stressed and uneasy, as if they weren't true. He gave Raven a serious look that made her nervous. She chewed her lip. "Caroline, I want you to stay here near the fire. Raven and I will be back soon." Zazel nodded to Raven as they headed to the door to pull on their boots.

"Don't leave me Zazel!" The younger girl cried and ran after him. She hugged his waist. "I'm scared." She whispered.

"It's okay, we'll be fine. There's no reason to be afraid." Zazel walked the girl back to bench and sat her down.

"Don't go, brother." Caroline whispered as Zazel and Raven exited the small house.

"I bet the Elders are meeting on the square." Zazel determined. "Follow me." Raven did as she was told and remained quiet. It didn't take long for them to reach the town square even though Grandma Saya's house was the furthest from the center, more on the outskirts than in the actual village itself.

Just as they reached the village center they heard the first screams. People were scattering in every direction. Zazel and Raven had to press themselves against the wall to avoid being trampled by the fleeing crowds. "What are they running from?" Raven asked Zazel, suddenly very scared.

"I don't know." He frowned deeply and again Ravenna got the feeling that he was lying to her. She reached out and intertwined her fingers with his. He looked at their hands then at Raven with his deep, black eyes. The fear must have been clearly written on her face because he squeezed her fingers tightly. "We'll get out of this." He whispered to her.

"I don't see Grandma Saya." Ravenna said, looking out onto the square as people dashed to and fro. Suddenly a beam of light flashed across her vision and a building exploded. Raven couldn't stop the scream that escaped her mouth and flames erupted from the path of the beam. Zazel pulled her and darted from behind the wall they had been pressed against. When Raven saw the creature that stood on the edge of the village she shook, too scared to even scream.

The monster was massive, larger than anything she had ever seen. Huge horns twisted from its head and it had clawed hands that were swinging wildly at people and buildings without discretion between the two. Another beam of light and the building right in front of Zazel and Raven exploded. Zazel skidded to a halt, stopping Raven behind him.

"We have to get back to the house!" Zazel yelled to her over the sound of more screaming and cracking fires. Raven hadn't realized that there were tears streaming down her face. She wiped them away and nodded, letting Zazel pulled her back in the direction of their alley and Grandma Saya's cottage.

Just as they got within view of the house they saw Grandma Saya. The elderly woman rushed towards them. "Are you children alright? Are you okay?" Grandma Saya pulled them close to her. "Where's Caroline, we must leave, we must run while we still can." Her voice was filled with a fear that Raven had never heard before. She couldn't explain why but the fear in Grandma Saya's voice made her feel a sense of guilt.

"She's in the house." Zazel said finally releasing Raven's hand to run to the house. Two things seemed to happen simultaneously in Raven's vision. Caroline opened the front door, screaming, Her expression changed from one of horror to one of relief at the sight of Zazel, Raven, and Grandma Saya at the same moment that a green light flashed by them. The resulting explosion threw Zazel back.

"No!" He screamed, clambering to reach the ruins of the house. Grandma Saya grabbed him from behind and clutched him close to her with surprising strength. "No! Caroline!" Zazel screamed reaching towards the burning wreckage and struggling against Grandma Saya.

"Zazel, she is lost. We must go!" Grandma Saya was pulling Zazel, who was still screaming for Caroline.

Ravenna had watched the whole thing, frozen in horror. Her feet were rooted to the spot and she felt a fear so deep that she couldn't move. _What have we done?_ The snow still swirled gently through the air as if her whole world wasn't crashing down around her. Suddenly Raven saw the snowman that she had made earlier. Somehow, the snowman she had named Mom had survived the explosion and flames. "Mom!" Ravenna screamed running towards her snowman as if her life depended on it, desperately seeking the familiar world she had known just minutes before. She wanted so badly for the snowman to scoop her up in its arms and whisper that it would be alright.

"No! Ravenna!" Zazel's voice rang out behind her but it sounded far away compared to the heartbeat in her ears. There was another explosion, and then another, but still, Raven ran for the snowman, for a false safety.

Her shoe caught on something hidden under the snow and she fell, face first, into the snow. When she looked up she saw her snowman standing there, waiting for her just a few meters further. She imagined the face of a beautiful woman in place of the snow. She had black hair and deep, black eyes. She was the most beautiful woman Raven had ever seen and she had the most kind and loving expression Ravenna could imagine on a mother. The woman was reaching out to Raven, to save her from the horrible realty she currently faced. Then, suddenly the fire cracked high into the sky and embers and woods flew. Just like that Raven's snowman was gone, along with her dreams. In their place was a large burning beam.

Suddenly Zazel was kneeling next to her in the snow. He wiped the snow and tear mix from Raven's face. "Are you alright?" He was staring at her intently with his black eyes. She nodded and hugged him, sobbing into his jacket.

"Deliora!" Grandma Saya screamed, naming the monster Demon of Destruction in an ancient tongue "you cannot have my children!" Grandma Saya was screaming that the advancing creature. She had positioned herself between Raven and Zazel and the monster. Suddenly the air was filled with a crimson light and Grandma Saya was illuminated by a ring of magic. Raven was captivated, staring at the magic circle. A red bolt shot out of the circle and hit Deliora in the chest. The massive demon stumbled backwards, crushing what remained of the buildings in the village.

"I will protect them from your destruction Deliora!" Grandma Saya was silhouetted by the crimson light once more and a bolt of energy, larger than the one before, shot out. It hit Deliora in the chest once more and the demon fell to the earth with a shaking crash.

Grandma Saya crumbled to the ground. Raven rushed to her side. "Run." The elderly woman whispered to her.

"Get up Grandma Saya." Raven cried, desperately trying to pull the elderly woman to her feet. "Come on, we'll go, you me and Zazel."

"Ravenna. Go. Run. He will be back up in a moment." Grandma Saya's breathing was labored and shallow. Raven sobbed harder and turned to where Zazel and been just moments before. He was nowhere to be seen.

"Zazel!" Raven screamed, looking for him. "No!" She cried, turning back to the old woman and attempting to pull her up once more.

The woman shook her off with what little strength she had left. "Run child!" Grandma Saya screamed at her. Raven stumbled backwards in fear of the elderly woman's intensity. She crawled backwards through the snow before scrambling to her feet. With one last look at Grandma Saya lying in the snow, Ravenna ran. She would never forget the look on Grandma Saya's face, the look of fear, love, sorrow, and hopelessness, nor would she forget the name Deliora.

* * *

"No, Natsu! Don't go near him!" The sounds of screaming ripped Raven away from her past and back to her present. She shook and despite the ice she had just eaten she fell to her knees. "Deliora." She whispered. _All this time and I still haven't forgotten. Grandma Saya… _Raven could feel the tears on her cheeks even though she didn't want to admit it.

There was a strangled scream from the other side of the wall and Raven shook her head. _I can't go getting weak now._ "Natsu!" a girl's voice called out. Raven struggled to her feet once more and she saw the pink haired boy's body had been completely incased in ice.

"Happy! Get Lucy out of here!" The black haired boy screamed over his shoulder. Raven followed his gaze and sure enough a cat with wings yelled "Aye!" before disappearing into the air with the blond girl. Raven blinked unsure of what she had just seen.

Raven's attention snapped back to the fight when she heard ice shatter again. "What, no! I can't move," the Salamander cried angrily.

"You distracted me long enough for the girl and the cat to escape." The helmeted man said calmly. "Chivalrous, but ultimately pointless; there's no way those two can stop my minions."

"Don't underestimate the power of Fairytail wizards! Now –"The Salamander was interrupted as his companion kicked the ice he had been encased in. He was sent over the edge of the ruins and down the mountain side. "What's the big idea Gray!" Raven heard him call before his voice faded.

"I see you are as reckless as ever. Was he not one of your allies?" The helmeted man asked.

"You and I both know with one spell you could blow up that ice and him with it." The other responded. _So he was protecting his ally_. Raven realized at the same time the helmeted man said as much.

"I don't understand why you are trying to pull this superior act with me, Lyon. You're not!" The black haired boy growled. _So they do know each other. _"We're not Ur's students anymore."

"I'm well aware of that. Painfully aware." The man called Lyon said as he removed his helmet. "Our beloved teacher is no longer of this world."

"Her final act was sealing that monster away. Are you really so callus that you would really try to destroy our master's legacy?" _So the one that taught him ice magic was not Kayerith, but they were the one that sealed away Deliora?_

"Don't delude yourself. We both know you're the one who killed Ur." Lyon said, still as calm as he was before. The black haired boy seemed deeply distraught at Lyon's words. "And yet, you don't seem to feel any guilt. How cruel." Lyon paused. "Enough with the games Gray, you're the one who murdered Ur so just admit it." Lyon demanded. "I'm surprised you have the gall to even speak her name!" She shouted before casting a spell and hitting the black haired boy he'd called Gray with a spell. _He casts one handed. His spells have to be unstable._ Gray flew back into a wall.

"Lyon." He muttered as he stood from the rubble of the wall.

"What's wrong? Don't tell me the guilt is finally getting to you. I'm warning you. Don't try to interfere. Whether you like it or not, I'm resurrecting Deliora." Lyon announced angrily.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that." Raven called as she stepped out from behind the ledge she'd been hiding behind.


	8. Lyon

**Quick Author's note: Hey guys! First things first: I apologize to those of you who were deeply offended by the atrocious grammar in the last chapter. I fixed it shortly after posting it (I think) but I'm certain some of you still had to read it and for that I'm terribly sorry T.T Second things seconds: I'm _also _terribly sorry it took so long to upload this chapter. I got really sick and then I thought I was better but I got sick again grrr! And then school got really crazy because professors were like all the tests all the times! But, everything is all caught up now and I'm no longer sick (officially) so I plan to start updating regularly again. I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter! It's one of the longer ones (actually probably the longest thus far) but I feel like I owe you guys that much for taking so long to update! Let me know what you think in ratings and reviews! End author's note**

* * *

"Who is this Gray?" Lyon said with just the slightest hint of accusation in his voice. "You've brought more friends with you? Afraid you weren't going to be able to handle this on your own? You do realize it's not going to matter how many people you bring with you." Lyon's voice drifted back to the same emotionless calm that it was before. He took Raven in for only a moment before shrugging her presence off. _He doesn't think I'm a threat_, Raven realized. She scowled. Lyon looked back at Gray expectantly, as if he was going to simply explain her presence to him.

Gray remained silent for a moment, simply starring at Raven with a strange expression. Suddenly, as if he had just remembered what was doing, caution entered his expression and donned a deliberately combative stance. "Who the hell are you?" He called out at the same time Lyon turned to him.

_Both think I'm on the side of the other._ Raven watched them as Lyon put the pieces together. She only just caught Lyon's expressions of shock, then confusion, before his face returned to the same mask that it had been. He threw his helmet aside. It crashed to the ground unceremoniously, forgotten. "You aren't of importance right now. This fight is not yours!" Lyon called to Raven, though his eyes never left Gray. Raven's scowled deepened. She hated when people underestimated her abilities as a wizard.

"Ice-make eagle!" Lyon called out, casting his circle in front of himself with one hand. Raven shook her head, _sloppy work._

"Ice-make shield." Gray said calmly. _At least he casts properly. _Raven thought as a shield of ice flew up between Lyon and Gray. The eagles that Lyon had casted flew up and over Gray's shield without so much as a pause. The birds struck Gray in the back before he could react and drew a cry of pain from his lips.

"While your specialty is creating inanimate objects, static ice-make magic, mine is creating living creatures, active ice-make magic. Did you forget my ice has the ability to move?" Lyon asked in as condescending tone as he could muster.

_They've completely forgotten me already. _Raven realized. _I can intervene now, or I can wait and learn more about both of them_.

"Ice-make hammer!" Gray yelled, having recovered quickly from his previous hit. He jumped though his own ice shield and into the air as the hammer swung down at Lyon.

"Ice-make ape." Lyon countered before the hammer even came close to hitting him. "How pathetic, you still use two hands when casting your ice spells." Lyon taunted. He had yet to move so much as a step from his original position and already Gray was breathing hard.

"Yea, cause that's what Ur taught us. Single handed spell casting is incomplete and unbalanced." Gray responded matter-of-factly. _At least he seems to actually understand the mechanics of ice-make magic._ Raven thought glancing between Gray and Lyon. _Who is this Ur that they keep talking about? _Raven furrowed her eyebrows in thought as the dramatic dialogue and fighting continued.

"I'm the exception to that rule." Lyon said. His voice was as neutral as it had been a moment before but Raven couldn't help noticing the pomposity of his statement. She rolled her eyes. _No, you aren't._ "I surpassed Ur's skill level a long time ago." He continued.

"Shut your mouth." Gray growled. He was furious; it was clear as day in his expression. Something Lyon had just said had touched a nerve.

"Regardless, ever since we were children you've never been able to land a single hit on me." Lyon mocked Gray, attempting to take him back the days of childhood together. She watched as Gray struggled with some internal memory. _Maybe he's not as skilled as I originally judged_. She wondered. Whatever rivalry they were re-living had completely blinded them to the outside world. She decided once more to bide her time, take notes of the strategies they employed, and wait for the right time to make her move.

Gray growled. "I'm a lot stronger now than I used to be." He did a quick secession of elaborate movements over his circle because finishing his casting. "Ice-make geyser!" He shouted, releasing his pent up magic. Ice shot into the sky around Lyon. He was enveloped in Gray's ice. Large chunks of excess ice began plummeting to the ground around the fight site. For the first time, the chanters and spectators that had been gathered around the strange purple light scattered with shrieks of terror. Ice chunks crashed around them as they darted for the doors into the temple.

Suddenly the ice engulfing Lyon shattered. Raven could see his outline clearly through the smoke and dust the falling rubble had kicked up. He still hasn't moved so much as a step. "Nothing has changed." He called through the smoke as it began to dissipate. "I was always the stronger student and I'm still stronger than you." Raven could hear the smirk he was wearing in his voice. She didn't need to see his face to know that he was amused by Gray's attempt to harm him. She glanced back at Gray, who wasn't hiding his own emotions well at all. Shock was clearly written on his face, and underneath it she could see the hint of fear. "I was able to master single-handed ice-make magic while you still have to rely on two hands. It's just like the old days, we may have chosen different paths but we are frozen in time. Our rankings as wizards never change." Lyon's hand began glowing with magic again and suddenly a massive, vaguely dragon-esk creature snaked from the ground beneath Gray, catching him unaware. He was sent tumbling through the air.

Raven stared at the clear attempt to make an ice dragon in disgust. _That couldn't possibly be what he thinks ice-dragons look like._ Raven felt anger boil in her chest at the injustice done to her memory of Kayerith. Lyon began talking again, his abomination waiting calmly for him to make the next move. "That is why I'm resurrecting Deliora, to prove that I am more than Ur's star pupil." Gray crashed to the ground but Lyon continued without so much as a pause in his speech. "As a child I only ever dreamt of one thing: the day I would surpass Ur's abilities as a wizard. But you ruined it for me Gray; after she died I thought my lifelong dream of surpassing her had been dashed. Until I realized there was one way. If I can defeat Deliora, a demon so strong that not even Ur can vanquish it then I'll have surpassed her power. My dream will finally become a reality!" Raven watched as Lyon grew increasingly more erratic and emotional through his speech.

"Oh, hell no." She said loudly enough to draw his attention away from Gray for a moment, who was still in the process of struggling to his feet.

"Who do you think you are, girl?" Lyon spat, furious that his elegant speech had drawn such an insulting response.

"It doesn't matter who I am. What _does_ matter is the fact that you are clearly an obsessive nut job _and_ that you actually have the balls to think that your hideous… creature," she glanced at his ice dragon to make her point, "is anything like a real Ice Dragon. Don't use your pathetic magic to try to replicate her again." Lyon's face scrunched in rage at her words. "Ice-make sword!" Raven shouted, her own hands glowing with a similarly blue circle. She pulled the ice blade from the circle as she darted forward at Lyon. He stared at her with an expression of shock, clearly astonished that she too had that ability to wield ice-make magic. He shook his head and jumped backwards, though he was just a moment too slow. The tip of Raven's ice sword drew a red line across his otherwise unscathed skin. A thin trail of blood trickled down his cheek from the wound.

"You're a wizard too." He whispered more too himself than her. "You actually hit me." He spat after he touched his fingers to his cheek and they came away red. He smeared his sleeve across his face, staining his cheek and his snow white sleeve. Quickly, a new line of blood replaced the one he had wiped away.

Raven smirked. "See what happens when you don't pay attention or you underestimate your opponents." Raven scanned her peripheral vision and noticed that Lyon's ice monstrosity had disappeared. She kept her ice blade at the ready.

She also realized Gray had made it back to his feet. He was staring at her with a similar expression of disbelief on his face. He mouthed something to her but she didn't understand his words. He turned his attention back to Lyon, "listen to me, that thing destroyed everything we cared about." _Deliora took everything from him too. _Suddenly Raven felt a connection to Gray that she hadn't felt with another person in a long time, s_omeone who can understand my pain._ There was someone who could understand her sense of loss. "And you want to bring it back just to prove how strong you are? That's insane!" Gray was shouting at Lyon now. "Please, you can't do this!"

Lyon's eyes widened with madness. It seemed nearly simultaneous that Lyon's hand glowed with the light of a circle and clawed hands erupted from the ground to throw Gray as if he weighed nothing. The words that Gray had said inspired such anger in Lyon that suddenly his cut and Raven were completely forgotten once more. "Please, you can't do this? Really?" Magic flowed Lyon's outstretched hand as he used attack after attack, sending Gray flying back and forth. "Funny, those were the exact words that we said to you that fateful day. Surely you haven't forgotten? It's because of you challenged Deliora that Ur lost her life"

Understanding suddenly hit Raven. _Gray truly is the reason their teacher lost her life. I don't even want what to think what I'd do to get back at someone if I knew they had hurt Kayerith, let alone gotten her killed._ Raven felt torn, looking from one boy to the other. She felt as if she could understand the anger from both sides of their fight. _I can't let Lyon resurrect Deliora, resurrecting that demon has nothing to do with getting revenge on Gray for the loss of their teacher's life. Bringing that demon back to life is not an option._ Not for the first time that night Raven's head swam with the image of Grandma Saya lying in the snow. Pain, longing, and guilt filled her.

"I can't stand you even speaking her name in my presence! Be gone!" Lyon's magic surged to form that horrendous likeness of the ice dragon once more. Raven's eyes flashed with anger

"What did I say about using that pathetic _thing_?" Raven yelled, darting into the fray of the battle once more. Lyon turned his magic on her without hesitation this time. She was prepared for that though and managed to dodge the jaws of his ice monstrosity. She caught Lyon in the legs with her ice sword, sweeping them out from under him. He fell backwards hard but immediately rolled back to his feet.

"You!" He accused darkly. "Stay out of this! This fight is between Gray and I!" Lyon's eyes darted to the now unconscious form of Gray lying on the ground nearby. Raven saw her chance and took it without hesitation.

"Ice-make greaves!" Raven abandoned her sword and spun in planting a heavy ice-laden kick into Lyon's unprotected head. He was sent flying sideways. "Let's get one thing straight. I could give two shits about whatever petty rivalry you two are dealing with. But what I do care about is you bringing back Deliora!" Raven began advancing on him again as he used the wall he had crashed into as support to stand up. "And that stupid looking ice dragon you think you are so clever for conjuring up!" By the time she was close enough to swing in for another kick Lyon was expecting her. He jumped sideways and her kick struck nothing but the wall. _Damn, he's fast._ "I won't let you bring back the demon." Raven ground her teeth as she turned, looking for him. "I can't let you bring it back!"

She only just caught the blue glow in her peripheral before she felt the impact of Lyon's eagle against her back. She was thrown forward as a sharp cry escaped her lips. "You don't get a say in the matter." Lyon growled at her. "I don't know who you are, and I don't know where you learned your ice-make magic, but I won't let you stop me either."

Raven crawled back to her feet. "You don't get a say in that matter." Raven repeated his words back to him and he scowled at her. She wiped the small stream of blood that was coming from already swollen lip with the back of her hand.

"Ice-make bow!" With a suddenly glow of light a sleek bow made entirely of ice appeared in Raven's hands. She drew back the invisible string and an arrow of ice appeared. She fired at Lyon. He countered her bow impossibly quick with his own ice shield. She growled in frustration but drew the bow back again. Just as her fingers released the string she was struck from the side by Lyon's massive ice fist. She didn't see if he shot hit her target or not before she slammed into the wall behind her.

"I don't have time for your trivial games!" Lyon called, though his voice seemed oddly distant. Raven sucked in a deep breath before struggling to her feet again. Her vision blurred momentarily and she reached out to steady herself. When she looked up Lyon was nowhere to be seen. "Coward" She spat at the ground.

Now that the fight was clearly over exhaustion hit her full force. After a brief look around the surrounding temple top she was satisfied that both Lyon and his lackeys were gone for the time being. She turned back to the unconscious body of Gray. _I nearly forgot about him._ She stumbled over to him and knelt down, checking his vitals. _He's still breathing, steady pulse._ Once determining that he was okay she stood once more and gently moved his body to a more ideal location, nearer to a wall she could rest against.

She slide down against the wall, breathing heavily, and rested her head gently against it. She closed her eyes for a moment. _How long has it been since I've slept 19-20 hours. That ice I ate didn't restore nearly enough of my energy. _She sighed and lifted her head once more.

Her lavender eyes settled on boy lying in front of her. _He can't be much older than I am_. She reached out, hesitated for a moment, and then gently brushed back his thick dark hair. Despite the scrapes and bruises he had an attractive face, she couldn't deny that. "Who are you?" She whispered to the ice mage quietly before leaning back against the wall, exhausted.


	9. Saving the Village

**Quick author's note: Hey guys! Sorry I took so long to update but I broke my arm and was in a cast past my elbow and it was basically impossible to type. Fun fact: casts suck. I'm still in a sling but its significantly easier to type now so I really wanted to update. I'm not sure how you guys will feel about this chapter because I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter! Please let me know what you guys think in rates and reviews! :) End author's note**

* * *

"Who the hell are you?" An angry voice coaxed Raven out from the realm of unconsciousness. She groaned and turned her head to the opposite side, still half asleep. Her body was unwilling to get up just yet. "Hey, I'm talking to you! Come on, wake up." This time the voice was accompanied by a light kick on the bottom of her boot. She groaned again but this time her eyes fought their way open. The sky was dark overhead. _What time is it?_ Her vision was blurry for a moment but it didn't take long for her to realize the silhouette of an individual leaning over her. Her body tried to kick into defense overdrive but she had hardly any magical energy left. "Good, you're awake. Now, who are you?"

Raven stared at the figure blankly for a moment before her eyes adjusted to light of the moon. Slowly she realized that if this person became hostile she would have no way to defend herself. Slowly, her fingers slid across the ground near her in the hopes that she would find a rock for defense should she need it. She struggled to force her vision to focus. With her free hand she pinched the bridge of her nose and rubbed the corners of her eyes, thinking. _Galuna Island… fighting… Ice-Make wizards… Shit!_ Understanding came back to her suddenly and then she recognized the pink haired boy leaning over her. "You're the Dragon Slayer." Her tiredness eased away somewhat with the realization that she had finally found the person she had been looking for, for the last several months.

"That's me!" The pink haired boy grinned and tried to point a thumb at his chest but misjudged and slammed his thumb into the large block of ice that was encasing his body. As if he suddenly remembered that he was supposed to be serious, his expression changed from his grin back to his slight frown. "I asked who you were first." He sounded dejected that she had tricked him into revealing his identity when he was trying to acquire hers. He looked from her to Gray. "Did you do this to Gray?" He asked, accusingly.

Raven followed his gaze; Gray was still lying near her feet, unconscious and breathing shallowly. He twitched gently at the sound of his name but remained unconscious. She looked back at the Salamander. He was still encased in the ball of ice that Lyon had summoned around him before Gray had pushed him down the slope.

"Let me help," Raven said beginning a slow struggle to her feet. She had deliberately ignored his question while she determined exactly what she wanted to tell him here. Once on her feet, she stretched out an unsteady hand towards the ice shell that was limiting his movement.

"Whoa!" He jumped back clumsily. "I still don't know who you are." He pointed out after he was clearly out of arms reach.

"Fair enough," Raven shrugged. She thought a moment longer before continuing. "I'm Raven Wintersong. I wasn't the one that hurt your friend." She motioned slowly to Gray. She looked at him expectantly. He seemed to be lost in thought about something, glancing from her to Gray and back again. "If you'll let me, I'll remove that ice." She offered again.

He regarded her carefully before shrugging and moving closer. Raven placed both hands on the orb of ice. She let her magic flow through the ice. _His ice is so unstable and weak. It's going to be easy to break._ She released her magic all at once and the ice shattered with little to no effort on her part, leaving the Salamander unharmed.

"So, you must be an ice wizard too?" He asked her. She nodded and left it at that. "I don't know why you all use ice magic; fire is where it's at!" He grinned at her again. "Well, let's get going." He turned and started to walk away. Raven cleared her throat. When he turned back to look at her he noticed Gray. "Right," he walked back over to them.

"Do you have a name Dragon Slayer?" She asked him quietly as he leaned over Gray in much the same way he had leaned over her.

"You can call me Natsu. Get up, Gray." The unconscious boy twitched again. "Get up, Gray!" Natsu repeated, more loudly. Raven cautiously glanced at the temple doors that weren't all that far from them. When she looked back the boy's eyes were open. "Man, you look rough. He beat the snot outta you huh?"

"Natsu? What are you doing here?" He struggled to make a sentence and his voice was quiet enough that Raven had to strain to hear. He wasn't even trying to move from his spot on the ground. Raven realized that he couldn't see her with the way his head was tilted.

"I couldn't remember how to get to the village so I just climbed back up to look for it." Natsu explained. "I found it though, so let's go." He unceremoniously grabbed the back of Gray's shirt and began dragging him away. Raven stayed quiet, in the hopes that Gray would not feel humiliated by losing in front of someone he didn't know.

"Wait, I can walk." Gray told him quietly. "Where's Lyon?"

"Don't know, by the time I made it back everybody but you two had vanished." Natsu said, continue to walk away in the direction of the village.

"You two?" Gray started to collapse. Raven rushed forward to catch him since Natsu's back was turned.

"Hey there," she whispered to him gently. Gray looked at her for a moment without recognition before it came to him.

"You were there." He said. Raven smiled, keeping the same gentle expression. "You were at the fight. You're an Ice-Make wizard too." Gray whispered, cringing in pain.

"Yea, I am. But we'll talk about that when you are feeling better." _If I'm still here when you are back on your feet._ "Come on." She started walking forward slowly with his weight on her shoulders. She realized Natsu was watching her with an odd expression before he stepped up to help her carry Gray.

"Hold on, we have to hurry and get back to the village before they do." Natsu shouted. _If they haven't already made it back_, Raven couldn't stop the thought from entering her mind.

They had been walking in silence, making good time, when Gray finally spoke again. Raven was startled by his voice, she had thought he was unconscious again. "Hey…" He whispered nearly inaudibly.

"Yea?" Natsu responded immediately, though he didn't stop walking or even slow their near jogging pace.

"I'm sorry." Gray whispered. "I'm sorry I didn't believe in you. I'm no better." Gray's voice was distant and sullen, as if his mind was locked in a memory of somewhere far away. Raven glanced down at him and saw the tears sliding down his cheeks. _Oh shit. What do I do? I'm not equipped to handle this! I barely know this guy! What am I saying, I don't know this guy at all! Crap, crap, crap. _Raven's internal panic button had been pressed and was in full rage mode until Natsu took control of the situation.

"Quit feeling sorry for yourself because you lost a fight! You're a member of Fairytail and we don't give up when times are tough, so just put it behind you and keep moving forward!" Gray and Raven both stared at Natsu. Gray's eyes were wide but he didn't say anything. Raven felt like an outsider intruding on a moment that she wasn't supposed to be present for and so remained silent as well. _Natsu certainly takes their guild and friendship seriously. _She felt a small, sad smile on her lips. _I miss having a friend_. "Come on! We gotta run." He said suddenly picking up their pace without warning.

"Right," Raven nodded, serious and focused again.

It wasn't very much longer before the village came into sight. She could hear yelling in the distant but couldn't make out the words. As they got closer to the village the gates barring the village from the outside world slid open for them. "Hey guys! Are you okay?" Natsu called out to them as soon as he saw the blonde girl standing just inside the village perimeter.

Raven could see from here that she was shocked to see them. "Natsu!" The villagers shouted happily behind her. _Thanks for the recognition_, Raven thought spitefully before actually remembering how short tempered and minimal her interactions with the villagers had been. She pushed the thought away and realized that the blonde girl was the one from earlier, on top of the temple. She was making wild gestures and stuttering at them. Until finally the words, "Stay right there! Don't come any closer." managed to escape her lips.

"What?" Natsu called back with a confused expression but didn't slow down his mad sprint for the gate. In order to avoid hurting both herself and Gray further she kept pace with Natsu. Raven glanced from side to side, checking behind them in her peripheral vision to make sure they weren't being followed. She tried her best to slow Natsu down without causes them to drop Gray, clearly seeing that the people were distressed for some reason.

"Natsu, stop! Please!" She screamed just as they reached the gate. Natsu skidded to a halt with Raven's help.

"What's with the grass?" Natsu asked as he stepped forward. Raven's expression was incredulous as the full weight of Gray was suddenly dumped onto her shoulders from the falling Natsu. Gray was heavier than he appeared but Raven was still able to hold him up. _Did he really just fall for a pitfall trap? He couldn't possibly be that dumb._ Raven closed her eyes and shook her head in disbelief but sure enough, when she opened them again Natsu was still laying sprawled in the bottom of a large hole, covered in grass.

"He actually fell for it." One of the villagers standing behind the blonde girl said, looking embarrassed for Natsu.

"No pun intended." Raven chuckled to herself darkly.

"Yea, I'm sorry we ever doubted you." Another one of the villagers told the girl.

"It's ruined," was her only response.

"Very funny, but we don't have time to play practical jokes on each other!" Natsu yelled up from the bottom of the hole. Raven wasn't sure if she should be dubious of the stupidity of the situation or simply laugh at the humor in it.

"Don't talk to me; it was Lucy's dumb idea." The blue cat that Raven had seen earlier leaned over the hole and shrugged, pointing at the blonde.

"I should have known!" Natsu burst out from the bottom of the hole.

"It wasn't supposed to be a joke! It was supposed to be a trap." The girl sang, offended by the accusation. _So her name is Lucy._ Raven made a mental note of the girl's name.

"I'm glad you are okay. I was worried about you." The cat called down into the hole.

"Yea, I'm fine, but Gray's down for the count." Natsu responded. Suddenly it was as if everyone realized that Raven was still standing on the other side of the 'trap' supporting the nearly unconscious Gray.

"Hey guys." She said awkwardly, attempting to wave without dropping Gray.

"That's the girl from earlier that was looking for Natsu!" One of the villagers shouted from inside the crowd that had formed. Raven gritted her teeth as Lucy gave her a suspicious look before turning her attention back to Natsu, who was still in the hole.

"The guy in the mask beat him up that badly?" She asked concern in her voice. Raven wanted to scream that she look at him and find out instead of just standing around but she kept silent as she looked at all the unfamiliar faces around her.

"Hey! Your ice is gone!" The blue cat yelled happily.

"It must have cracked when he fell. See, told you the pitfall would work." Lucy looked up triumphantly and put her hands on her hips.

"Excuse me Princess, but I believe the spell was actually broken when he left the caster's range of magic." A small pinked haired woman dressed as a maid spoke up next to Lucy. It was the first time Raven had noticed that she wasn't deformed in some way like the other villagers.

Raven sighed loudly. "Excuse me, princess," she snapped sarcastically, "but can we stop talking about ice and start focusing on your friend here? You know, the one that needs some medical attention at the moment."

"Right!" Lucy's attention snapped back to Raven. "Wait, who are you?" She glared as the tone of Raven's sarcastic princess comment sunk in. Raven rolled her eyes and started moving around the pitfall trap, carrying Gray alone, to a place where she could lay him down in safety.

"That's Raven." Natsu announced as he climbed out of the hole in the ground. "Actually, she's the one that cracked the ice. It was a while back, up at the temple." Natsu informed both of the girls as he brushed the dirt from his clothing. "She's an ice wizard, like Gray." Raven ignored the dagger looks of suspicion and anger she was getting from Lucy and focused on Gray.

"Gray?" Lucy whispered affectionately as soon as Raven had placed him down and moved out of the way. Lucy leaned over him.

"So how come Lyon's lackeys haven't made it here yet?" Natsu asked, distracting Lucy from Gray once again. _I'm only here to talk to the Dragon Slayer. I don't need to get involved. They'll treat his wound eventually. Just stay out of it Raven_. She reminded herself as frustration rose again.

"You know, that's a good question. They left for the village before you but you got here first." Lucy put a finger to her chin and looked up in thought. "I wonder what's taking them so long."

"I'd consider it a blessing and take the time you have to prepare." Raven interjected. Lucy ignored her comment and Natsu seemed too lost in thought to hear. Raven sighed.

"Yea, and carrying Gray I was pretty slow, even with Raven's help." Natsu said slowly, the same thoughtful expression on his face.

"Alright guys! Hurry up and cover that hole!" Lucy yelled suddenly to the villagers, pointing at her completely ridiculous pitfall trap.

"They're not gonna fall for that." Both Raven and Natsu said together.

Raven ground her teeth in frustration and pushed her way back to Gray, who was still lying on the ground, seemingly forgotten by the other two. _Some friendship you guys have_. "I need a some clean cloth, a small knife, and some alcohol if you have it." She commanded one of the younger villagers standing nearby. He ran off instantly and returned quickly with all the things she had requested. "Thank you." She nodded to the boy.

Natsu and Lucy were still arguing loudly about the best way to defend the village while Raven treated Gray's wounds. He cringed violently when she dumped the alcohol on his cuts but he did not cry out. Slowly and carefully, leaning his weight against her should, she sat him up and began wrapping his body where his cuts were the worst. "Thank you." She heard him whisper quietly into her ear. She paused for a moment, feeling his breath on her neck, before continuing to wrap his wounds without a word. The fabric was just short of reaching his last few cuts when she ran out.

"Would you like me to get some more?" The young boy who had watched her treat Gray asked. Raven was just about to reply when someone else called out, drawing their attention.

"Over there!" They were pointing towards the sky, and sure enough, the lackeys Raven had seen earlier were there, riding on the back of what appeared to be a giant rat, flying through the night sky.

"It's a giant flying rat!" Someone else called out. "And its carrying a bucket!" Another quickly followed up. _I'm surrounded by idiots_. Raven thought judgmentally as everyone continued to point and repeat the obvious instead of doing anything useful.

"Don't worry about it." She told the boy. "Just get to safety." She picked up the knife he had delivered previously and in a moment, cut through the bottom half of her shirt, ripping it the rest of the way, revealing her stomach. She used the extra fabric from her shirt to quickly finish wrapping Gray's wounds.

"What! Now my pitfall trap is totally pointless!" Lucy shouted angrily, as if that was going to help.

"For the love of the gods stop bullshitting and get prepared!" Raven yelled at Lucy. Her command was met with a glare. As the rat flew overhead, towards the center of town, the bucket swung and a drop of green liquid flew out. Raven watched as the drop fell, _it doesn't smell right. It smells… like death._ Raven's sensitive nose picked up on the scent of the liquid. She narrowed her eyes. Suddenly she realized that the drop was going to hit the blonde girl that had been glaring at her all night.

"Jelly?" Lucy whispered, confused, as it fell towards her.

"Watch out!" Raven shouted and leapt, grabbing Lucy around the waist and yanking her from the path of the poison jelly.

"What the hell-"she started to yell at Raven until she saw what the drop of that jelly had done to the ground where she had been standing moments before. She whimpered as she realized the ground was completely dissolved.

"That smell, I know that stuff was deadly." Raven whispered more to herself than anyone else, but she realized Natsu noticed her comment. The villagers, seeing what a single drop of the jelly had done, began to panic.

"That rat has a whole bucket of that stuff!" The villagers were screaming and shouting. Just as they realized the trouble they were truly in the rat threw the bucket overhead and the jelly began plummeting to the earth.

"I want everyone to the center of the village!" Natsu roared over the commotion. "Ready to fly Happy?" He shouted.

"Aye sir!" The cat yelled back as wings sprouted from its back and it took off into the sky, taking Natsu with it. The villagers did not need to be told twice. They grabbed Gray and rushed to the village center.

"I'm not going. I won't leave Bobo's grave!" The elderly man that had spoken to Raven earlier shouted, dropping to his knees in front of a large rock.

"But chief, that jelly's gonna get'cha!" A villager called over his shoulder as he sprinted to the center of the village.

Overhead Natsu was using his Fire Dragon Slayer magic and Raven could feel the heat from the flames even though she was on the ground. "Fire Dragon Brilliant Flame!" She heard him shout. He threw a massive fireball at the falling jelly and blew a hole right through the center of the mass, dispersing it.

Raven grinned as she realized what he'd done. _Maybe they aren't all idiots after all._ Suddenly the first drop of jelly hit the ground on the outskirts of the village and short steam into the air. One of the globs of the jelly substance was heading right for the chief of the village and Bobo's grave. "Ice-make," Raven whispered as she leapt for the chief. "shield" she finished the spell over the top of Bobo's grave as she grabbed the chief and leapt out from under the threat of the jelly moments before it crashed down.

"Oh no! Chief!" A villager that had been watching cried. As the steam from the jelly dissipated they could see Raven clutching the small man around the waist and racing towards the village center.

As soon as she hit the ring of safety they had established she threw the chief to one of the nearby villagers. She turned and slammed her hands into the ground as she shouted, "Ice-make wall!" A massive wall of ice erupted from the ground starting at her hands and wrapping itself entirely around the village center. Raven continued to pour magic into the wall as the acid jelly splashed up and melted away sections of the wall.

She stood and wiped sweat from her brow as she surveyed the damage. She was breathing heavily and her ice wall was falling away since she cut off the magic supply to the spell.

"The entire village is gone." She heard them say. _My magical energy has been running on low for too long._ She thought, looking at her own hands. Every spell she casted she ran the risk over exerting herself. She looked around at the people.

"Is anyone hurt?" She called out loudly.

"This is terrible," was the response that she got from the incredulous villagers.

"Bobo's grave is still standing." The chief whispered. Raven smiled, knowing her ice shield had protected the grave. As they watched the rock tumbled over and three figures emerged from the smoke. It was the three people Lyon had ordered to kill the villagers.

"The Cold Emperor told us to eradicate the village and its people. We were trying to show mercy by making your deaths quick and painless." The girl standing in the middle of the three spoke to them in a soft voice. "But, since that didn't work, we'll have to resort to bloodshed."

"Fifty villagers, three wizards, shouldn't take more than fifteen minutes." The short blue haired one said.

"You ready?" Natsu asked.

"Yea," Lucy swung her hips dramatically.

"Count me in." Raven said, sinking into a fighting stance beside them.

"Count again cause there's four wizards!" The cat shouted behind them.

"How dare them!" The chief burst out angrily. "Such disrespect," he spat. He took a deep breath. "You knocked over Bobo's grave! How could you-" the chief leapt at the intruders but three villagers grabbed him and held him back.

"Get him to safety." One villager ordered the others. They nodded and carried the still screaming chief off.

"Let me help you." A voice said from behind them.

"Gray! You came to." Lucy called out happily.

"Not gonna happen." Natsu said seriously, not even looking over his shoulder. "We don't need your help." Raven was surprised by the intensity of his refusal, but she could understand it.

"Natsu, don't do this to me." Gray said, somewhat desperately. He was breathing heavily and barely standing but still, he wanted to fight. Raven had to admire his courage, even if he was being foolish.

Without warning Natsu whipped around and slammed his fist into Gray's stomach. "Just lie down and rest." Gray lurched forward and clutched Natsu's forearm before whispering, "someday I'll... kill…" and then he was unconscious again.

"But why?" Lucy whispered in disbelief.

"He's giving Gray some tough love." The cat explained.

"Gray is in no condition to fight, and Natsu knows it, even if Gray doesn't." Raven explained.

"So, we had to stop him." The cat finished, smiling at Raven.

"That means deep down they really do care." Lucy whispered more to herself than anyone else. "Can you look after him for us?" Lucy asked the few villagers that were still lingering.

"No problem Miss Lucy." A villager responded, gently lifting Gray's limp body.

"We're not leaving until every person in this village is dead." The woman announced. "Angelica," the giant rat standing behind them shrieked in a horrible way and leapt into the air, taking the girl with it.

"We're not gonna let you get away with this!" Lucy screamed and jump onto the rat as it flew away.

"Well, I guess she's got that one." Raven said, a little surprised by her daring move.

"Yep, she's stupid." The cat said matter-of-factly. _I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks so._

"More like insane!" Natsu yelled as he watched the rat fly away. Suddenly, just a ways outside of what used to be the village, the rat dropped from the sky like a brick.

"Oh great, he's gonna be ticked." The blue haired boy said as he watched the rat fall.

"I don't have ticks!" The other burst out.

"I wasn't talking about you." The blue haired one said, un-phased by his partner's outburst.

"Do you think she made it?" Natsu asked, looking in the direction they had landed. "That big rat may have crushed her."

"If so she's probably a goner. I'll go check on her." The cat said, materializing its wings once more.

"Thanks, be careful." Natsu smiled at the cat.

"I'm sure she's fine." Raven spoke quietly to Natsu, who was clearly upset about his friend.

"We'll stay here and deal with them." Natsu said, mimicking Raven's stance.

He leapt forward without warning and head butted the dog-like boy. He howled in shock, and possibly pain. Without a moment of hesitation fire erupted from Natsu's mouth at the other boy.

"A wizard that can breathe fire? Don't tell me you are the Salamander from Fairytail that I've heard so much about?" The other, smaller man, said, dissipating a small blue glow. The fire didn't even seem to have touched him.

The dog-like boy stood up. "I'm good!" He yelled to no one in particular. Natsu glanced back behind him.

"Don't worry Natsu, I've got this one, you focus on beating that one." Raven shouted, jumping into the fight and putting her back to his to face the dog-like boy.

Fighting erupted on either side of the battle field. "Toby, stay back! You don't need to get involved." The smaller one shouted. The dog-like boy nodded and began to move backwards, his eyes staying on Raven.

"Ice-make floor!" She slammed her palms into the ground and casted the spell before he had time to react. He slid backwards down the ice slide that she had made. she could feel the last drops of her magical energy be sapped away. _I'm going to have to find another way to beat him_. Raven stood and smiled to hide her worry, as she watched him slid on his back down the slide. She jumped onto the ice, sliding on her feet to catch up to Toby.

At the end of the ice floor Toby jumped to his feet. "You choose wrong girl! I'm even stronger than Yuka is!"

"Oh, I'm shaking in my boots." Raven smirked sarcastically.

"Check out my mega-jellyfish paralyzing claws!" He grinned as green claws sprouted from the ends of his fingers. "Bet you'll never guess what these babies can do!"

Raven arched an eyebrow, "Paralyze you?"

"Whoa! How did you know that?" He asked suddenly aghast that she was able to guess the answer. "Hey," he narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "you got EPS or something?"

"No, you're just dumb." Raven said matter-of-factly.

He lunged at her but she easily dodged sideways. "Nobody takes to me like that! With just one swipe from my claws you'll be frozen and waiting to die!"

Raven laughed as she dodged swipe after swipe.

"Hey, watch it!" She taunted. "Careful, wouldn't want anyone to get hurt!" She dropped as he made a high swipe and took out his legs with a sweep. "Oh man, you got a little something right here." She gestured to her own forehead as he lay on the ground.

He reached up to brush the invisible thing away and stuck himself with his own claws. A shock ran through as he twitched violently before lying still.

"Hey, Natsu." She said climbing back up the hill that the jelly poison had created.

"These guys were a joke." He grinned as she came up to level ground. "Here we go," he picked up the large stone that was part of Bobo's grave. "We are gonna find a way to change your people back to normal Bobo. I know we will. And I promise you, I will avenge your death." Natsu was speaking to the stone.

Raven's cocky smile disappeared. All this time she had been solely focused on finding Natsu in order to talk to him about the dragons, but here, now that she was finally alone with him, it just didn't seem like the right time. She had become invested in helping these wizards in a way that she didn't think she was capable of anymore. It was refreshing to feel like she was part of a team. She had been alone for far too long.

Raven placed a hand on Natsu's shoulder and looked towards the sky. "The sun's rising, come on, we should find where the villagers went and try to find Lucy." Raven said quietly.

"Yea," Natsu said, rising. "This isn't over yet."


	10. Natsu's Brilliant Plan

**Quick Author's Note: Hey guys! I got really excited about finishing this story arc so here's the next chapter already! I hope you guys enjoy this one too. Let me know what you think in reviews and/or favorites please (I hate plugging for those but the more I have the more people will probably see my story). Thanks for the support and encouragement. Enjoy! End Author's Note.**

* * *

"Natsu," Raven spoke after they had been searching for what seemed like forever. The sun was peaking even further over the horizon. "I need to sleep." Raven hated to be the one to complain and stop their search but she was straddling the edge of twenty-four hours without true sleep. "I used a lot of my magical energy getting to the island, fighting Lyon, and then Toby." She bit her lip, unwilling to admit that it unnerved her that it still wasn't replenishing. It had been years since she had used her energy until it was nearly gone. She hated feeling like she was admitting weakness but without any ice around there was nothing that she could do to replenish her magic except rest. "I don't know that I could fight if it came down to it." She told him, knowing full well that she wouldn't be able to.

Natsu paused their walk to look at her. She could see that he had circles under his eyes as well. He stretched his arms widely. "I guess I'm getting pretty tired as well. We can sleep, but only for a little while." He smiled at her. "The real question is where?" He said looking side to side.

It was Raven's turn to smile at him. "When you spend your life on the road you learn to sleep just about anywhere." She sat down right where she was and nestled herself against a tree. A root poked mildly uncomfortably into her exposed lower back but she ignored it.

"So you travel a lot?" Natsu watched her as she settled into the roots. "Don't you have a guild?" He found a spot leaning against the tree opposite hers and settled in. Raven closed her eyes and shook her head no. "Well, why not?" He asked when she didn't elaborate on her own.

Raven couldn't stop the frown that appeared on her face. "I've been… on a mission of sorts." She bit her lip again.

"What kind of mission?" Raven could feel Natsu's eyes on her even though her own eyes were closed.

_ Finding Kayerith. Finding you._ She wanted to say, but instead she just shrugged slightly. "It's complicated. We can talk about it later. For now, I want to sleep." She turned her head and rested it against her own shoulder. Natsu seemed to understand and didn't say anything again.

There was silence between them for a while. Just as Raven was leaving consciousness she heard Natsu say, "Hey Raven, I have an idea." She ignored his voice, opting instead to float off into the land of blissful sleep.

* * *

"Hey, Raven, wake up!" Raven was beginning to resent the voice that had pulled her from sleep not once but twice in the last twenty-four hours. Immediately she noticed that she could feel her magic again. She opened her eyes to blinding sunlight. The sun was past being high in the sky.

"How late did we sleep?" She asked, snapping awake. She knew that the answer was well past noon.

"I don't know, but I came up with an idea last night. I was going to tell you but you were already asleep." He explained. Raven only vaguely remembered hearing his voice, maybe? His grin made her weary of what his 'idea' could possibly entail.

"What's your idea?" She asked hesitantly, remembering the brilliant 'idea' Lucy had with the pitfall trap.

"Well, I was thinking, the moonlight has to shine directly on the top of the temple in order to reach the bottom where Deliora is being stored, right?"

"Sure," Raven said, shrugging. She hadn't actually seen where Deliora was.

"So, if we break all the support pillars on one side of the temple, it will tilt the temple and the moon drip won't be able to be on Deliora anymore!" Natsu was beaming with pride at the brilliance of his idea. Raven stared at him.

"You don't really think that will work, do you?" She asked him skeptically.

"Of course I think it will work!" Natsu seemed almost hurt that she would question the clear genius of his plan. She arched an eyebrow at him, and then shrugged.

"I suppose it's the only thing we've got. Best case scenario this somehow, _actually_ works. Worst case scenario the temple collapses on us and we die. Either one will stop the moon drip." She shrugged again. "I guess it's worth a shot." She rose from her pseudo-bed on the ground and brushed the dirt from her jeans. She bent over backwards and cracked her back, stretching on her way back up.

"Yes!" Natsu shot a triumphant fist in the air. "It'll be easier than trying those villagers anyway because I can see the temple from here." He pointed over Raven's shoulder to the left. Through a small gap in the trees Raven could see the temple.

It didn't take long for them to reach the line of trees in front of them temple. As they emerged Natsu gave a final stretch and a massive yawn. "Man, I finally come up with the perfect plan and then I go and oversleep."

Raven resisted the urge to yawn in response to Natsu as well as the urge to laugh at his idea of the 'perfect plan'. His plan was ridiculous, but it might be so ridiculous that it works. She instead focused her attention on looking for enemies on either side as they approached the doorway to the temple.

Just outside the door Natsu stopped and looked at her with a smile. "You ready?" Raven matched his smile and nodded her approval. "Alright then! Let's do this!" He yelled running into the temple.

The entrance room to the temple was filled with a large staircase and several dozen support pillars. Natsu grinned and without another word engulfed his fists in fire and punched the closest pillar. "Ice-make Hammer." Raven whispered with a wicked smile. From her casting circle Raven pulled a large Warhammer made entirely from ice. She swung the hammer full force and sure enough the pillar gave way under the force of the blow. Several pillars later the temple began shaking under her feet. _I can't believe this is actually working. _ She smashed another pillar.

Natsu roared suddenly, drawing her attention away from smashing the next pillar for a moment long enough to see him shot a hole through the ceiling of the temple. As he looked up to exam his handy work he began laughing. "You know, I usually end up breaking stuff by accident. It's kinda funny how hard it is when I'm doing it on purpose." Confused, Raven ran over to look at what, or who Natsu was talking to. Several floors up, through the hole he had created, Raven could see Lyon, Toby, and a strange masked person.

"What is with all the masks around here?" She exclaimed, throwing her arms with exasperation.

"What are you doing here?" Lyon yelled in disgust.

"We're knocking this place over!" Natsu yelled right back. "Then you won't be able to shine moonlight on that demon you've got underground."

"Insolent fools! Just who do you think you are?" Lyon scowled down at them. "You dare challenge me?"

"Okay, will someone please explain what's going on, because I'm lost?" Confusion was written all over the face of poor Toby. If he hadn't been an enemy, Raven would have felt bad for him.

"I told you, you're dumb." Raven shrugged with enough exaggeration that he would be able to see it even though he was several floors up.

"Hey-"He started angrily.

"Evidently these two are the reason the temple is now tilted." The strange masked man explained over Toby. "I suppose they destroyed the support pillars on one side. Doing so caused the temple to shift in that direction. This, in turn, will prevent any moonlight from shining directly on Deliora." He gave a soft laugh. "It's an ingenious plan. I'm actually quite surprised these dopes were the ones that came up with it.

Raven could see the anger on Natsu's face surface as the masked man called him a dope. "So, you gonna fight me or what?" He challenged them, fire erupted from his feet.

"Flames shoot from his feet?" Lyon asked, seemingly unimpressed.

"When Yuka fought that guy he was able to shoot fire from all over his body!" Toby shouted, clearly scared of Natsu's fire.

Raven was only just able to dodge out of the way of Natsu's surge of flames as he leapt into the air and used them to propel himself upwards at the would-be enemies. She ran back under the hole just in time to see him slam into Lyon head first. Even from this distance Raven could see the cracks appear across Lyon's skin. Just as the animated ice version of Lyon shattered Raven realized what he had done.

"Dammit!" Raven tightened her grip on her ice Warhammer and pulled from more of her energy. "Ice-make Dragon Wings." Massive leathery ice wings erupted from her back as she leapt into the air after Natsu.

"Ice-make Eagle!" Lyon shouted. "You can't dodge them midair." He looked so triumphant. Natsu shot a burst of fire from his mouth, propelling him downwards and out of the path of Lyon's eagles. He immediately spun around, launching fire from his feet in a spinning kick at Lyon, who managed to duck out of the way.

"What kind of ridiculous magic is this?" Lyon asked as he jumped into the air to dodge another attack from Natsu.

"That's Dragon Slayer magic!" Raven shouted as she swung her Warhammer at him in the air.

"Ice-make Shield!" Lyon managed to get off a shield just before Raven's hammer connected with his side. The ice of his shield shattered as soon as her hammer hit it but it gave Lyon enough time to dodge away from her as well.

"Fire Dragon Roar!" Natsu yelled, fire glowing in his throat as he prepared to shoot more flames. Suddenly he was gone and fire was pouring from a hole in the floor.

"What did you do?" Raven shouted accusingly at Lyon. It wasn't until afterwards that she realized Lyon looked just as shocked as she did though.

"Very fortunate Cold Emperor." The strange, small, masked man said. _It was his magic. _Raven realized. "Luck is on your side."

"Can we leave the whole Toby got charred things a secret too?" Toby asked from the corner he was standing in. No one even acknowledged he had spoken. Raven's wings flapped slowly around her. Lyon's focus was still on the hole in the floor where Natsu had been moments before.

"This isn't over! Think fast!" Raven yelled, spinning in a circle to build momentum before hurling her Warhammer in Lyon's direction. He turned and dodged her hammer as it shattered against the floor. "Ice-make Bow." She commanded, pulling her ice bow from the casting circle.

"Not you again." Lyon retorted as he watched her hovering over the temple floor. Raven drew the ice string back on her bow and shot at Lyon. Spontaneously her arrow split in two and one spun off towards the masked man. Both Lyon and the masked man managed to dodge her arrow.

"What did you do?" Raven demanded, turning her attention towards the masked figure.

"Whatever do you mean?" He grinned back at her, infuriating her more.

"Don't play dumb with me!" She shouted at him angrily, drawing her bow back again.

"Your magic had to of caused that hole in the floor." Lyon added suspiciously. _He doesn't know what kind of magic it is either._ Raven realized, looking at the confused and angry expression on Lyon's face. _What kind of leader doesn't know his own underlings?_

"Don't you have ever the watchful eye?" The masked man shrugged with a gentle chuckle. Raven didn't like how he was making light of the situation. She loosed her bow again, this time sending the arrow and its two splits towards the masked man. He dodged all the arrows with what seemed to be ease. _This guy is more powerful and Natsu and I realized. I didn't know Lyon had someone like this working for him_. "Please, allow me to explain my actions, sir." He said, acknowledging Lyon and not Raven. "You are the only one strong enough to defeat Deliora so it is imperative that you remain safe until its resurrection."

Raven could instantly tell that there was something larger going on behind this man's words. He was lying directly to Lyon with near mockery and still Lyon was too blinded by ambition to see it. _Who is this guy?_

"Are you suggesting that I could fall victim to such paltry magic?" Lyon's voice was even angrier than it had been a moment ago. Magic started to overflow from him in a passive display of power. The room around them nearly instantly dropped about thirty degrees and began to freeze over, encasing them in a large ice shell. Raven smirked, _perfect_. "Leave me." Lyon ordered the other two. "I can take care of this myself." Lyon said looking from Raven, who was still flying, to Natsu, who was climbing back out of the hole that he had fallen through. Raven was glad to see that he was okay. "Once I finally defeat the demon everyone will worship my name: Cold Emperor Lyon. I've worked too hard to let a brat like him tarnish it." Lyon was looking off into the distance as if remembering something from a time before.

"As you wish," The masked man bowed slightly to Lyon. The smile never once left his face. _This guy really unnerves me._

"So, you wanna try to defeat Deliora?" Natsu asked from his place half out of the hole. The masked man darted from the room, quickly followed by Toby. The ice crept over the door, officially sealing them into the room with Lyon. Natsu crawled the rest of the way out of the hole.

"You are so unhinged." Raven scowled. "You'll never be able to defeat Deliora." Raven's expression was dark as the image of Grandma Saya commanding her to flee from the ground filled her mind.

"The thing looks half dead already! So let me get this straight, you're going through all this trouble to melt that ice just so you can fight it?" It was Natsu's turn to sound incredulous. "That's pretty messed up if you ask me."

"I must rise about Ur's legacy." Lyon said, completely unfazed by their words. "I will not rest until I have fulfilled my dream!" He shouted launching his eagles at both Raven and Natsu. Raven immediately folded her dragon wings around her body as a shield, sending her crashing to the ground. She could feel the eagles shattering against her more stable ice wings.

"Why go this far? Couldn't you just challenge her and be done with it?" Natsu shouted at Lyon as he dodged eagles. _Natsu doesn't know._

"I would if I could, but Ur has been dead for years!" Lyon shouted angrily, still throwing eagles into the air.

When the eagles stopped Natsu spoke again. "I didn't realize that she ended up dying when she sealed it." His voice was serious.

"Yes, but she'd still be alive if it wasn't for Gray!" The resentment in Lyon's voice was astonishing. She furled her wings now that the eagles had stopped. She was just in time to see the eagle appear behind Natsu.

"Look out!" but she wasn't fast enough and the eagle hit him full force in the back. "Natsu!" She darted into the icy mist that clung to the walls of the room. Natsu was there, scrapped up but still clearly capable for fighting.

"It'll take a lot more than that to keep me down." He whispered to her reassuringly. As the mist cleared he addressed Lyon. "Look, I don't know what happened to you in the past, but I do know what you are doing in the present, and it's hurting a lot of innocent people. And since you don't seem to realize that yourself," Natsu's hand burst into flames again. "I'll have to knock some sense into you."

Natus darted into action, charging Lyon. They're magic circles met and exploded in a massive burst of energy and fire. Raven her hands up to block her face from the blast, and in the process dissipated her ice bow. _Dammit, I've got to stop this._ "Ice-make Sword." She pulled a large sword from her blue casting circle and followed Natsu's lead. After several long minutes of dodging, swiping, and fighting with neither side gaining ground they jumped back from each other.

"This could go on forever, so do yourself a favor and give up." Natsu called.

"I would never give you that satisfaction." Lyon scowled.

"It's two versus one, you'll never win." Raven added. Lyon's scowl deepened.

"Then you're asking for it." Natsu gave Lyon a wolfish grin. "You ready to finish this Raven?" he asked.

"I think it's past time for us to be done here." She agreed.

"Oh, is it now?" Lyon said, suddenly quietly calm once again.

Raven heard the ice crack behind them and instantly braced for an attack from Lyon. "What the-"Natsu said looking directly at the crack in the ice. Raven turned to examine it too and suddenly it burst, revealing Gray standing on the far side.

"Oh, it's Gray!" Natsu and Raven said together. He was still shirtless, wrapped in the bandages Raven had given him, including the cut off bottom of her shirt. Lyon was silent with a shocked expression.

"Leave him to me." Gray said, walking into the ice tomb that surrounded them. "It's time we settled things once and for all."

"No way, man! You already lost to him once." Natsu exclaimed immediately with an edge of rivalry entering his voice.

"And it's not gonna happen again." There was something in his voice, his expression, and his body language that made Raven believe him. "I'm ready to end this now."

"You seem awfully confident." Lyon smirked at his childhood rival.

"You were right, Lyon, I'm the one to blame for our master's death." He paused, seemingly for dramatic effect. "You've threatened my comrades, brought harm to the villagers, and now you are trying to destroy what Ur gave her life to create. It's time we accept our punishment. Together." Gray finished his speech and faced off against Lyon.

Lyon's eyes went wide as Gray assumed a strange casting stance. "That stance!" Lyon backed away. "Not Iced-shell." Raven was unnerved at how upset Gray's stance made Lyon.

"Iced-shell?" Natsu asked looking at Raven. She shrugged slightly to symbolize her ignorance of the spell. Suddenly, Natsu's eyes went wide in understanding though Raven was still confused.

"Are you insane? You wouldn't dare!" Lyon's stance implied that he intended to flee should Gray attempt whatever spell they were talking about.

"If you wanna live, change the villagers back to their human forms and then leave this island and never return." Gray demanded. A bright blue light appeared beneath Gray as he started to draw on his magic. "If you'll agree to that then I'll stop. If not, then this is the end."

"Is that so? Well, I don't believe a word of it." Lyon stood from his stance and looked directly at Gray. _Lyon thinks Gray's bluffing._ Raven realized. Something in Gray's expression told Raven that he wasn't though. "You're bluffing." Lyon challenged. Gray's expression darkened and his magic intensified, creating a small vortex around him.

Raven's cut off shirt began blowing in the vortex Gray's spell was creating. "No, I'm not."

"You'll die!" Lyon shouted over the noise of the spell's wind. He drew on his own magic and created a similar light blue circle. Gray dumped more magic into his spell, increasing the powerful yet again and threw Lyon backwards. Raven threw up an arm to shield her eyes from the light. _What the hell is he doing?_

"Don't do it!" Natsu shouted to Gray.

"All these years I've lied to myself. I didn't want to admit that Ur died because of, but she did, and it's time I took responsibility. So I will, here and now. I'm not afraid to die, if that's what it takes!" Gray shouted back as if that justified his actions.

"Stop this now!" Lyon screamed, fear in his voice.

"What's it gonna be Lyon?" Gray shouted over him. "Are we gonna die? Or are we gonna live? It's up to you."

"You wouldn't, you're not brave enough to give your life!" Lyon shouted. _He's actually insane. He still thinks Gray won't do it._ "You're nothing but a coward!" _Yea, cause challenging him is going to convince him not to cast the spell. _

"Just watch me." Gray said. Raven could feel that he was moments from finishing the casting of the spell.

"Don't do it!" Natsu yelled at Gray again, but seemingly to no avail.

"Natsu, Erza, all my friends in Fairytail, the rest is up to you." Gray said, as if they were his parting words. "I don't want to leave you, but my time is up." He said, confirming Raven's thoughts. "Iced-she-"

"Shut up!" Natsu's fist connected with Gray's face so hard that it interrupted the spell. Everyone stared in shock at what had just happened. Natsu was breathing heavily from the effort if took to throw himself through the spell's vortex.

"Natsu!" Gray wheeled on him with raw fury in his eyes.

"You can't just bust in here and steal the scene with a bunch of fancy talk. Get to the back of the line pal."

"Back of what line?" Gray was still furious.

"I was here first so it's my fight." Natsu said matter-of-factly. Raven stared at the scene of childish rivalry that had literally been life or death just moments before. _What. The. Hell. _

"What? When I got here the first words out of my mouth were 'leave him to me,'" Gray shouted at Natsu. Raven glanced at Lyon; he seemed just as shocked as she was.

"Yea, and I said 'no way man' like a second after that!" Natsu shouted right back.

"Why you-"Gray growled, so angry that he couldn't even finish his sentence.

"What, you want some?" Natsu said loftily, clearing mocking him.

Gray grabbed Natsu by the front of his shirt, suddenly serious again. "I don't care who said what, I've got a score to settle with him, you understand? And I'm ready to die if that's what I've got to do."

Natsu retaliated by grabbing Gray's wrist. "Yea? And how's dying gonna settle it?" Natsu faced was filled with as much rage as Gray's now. "Cause it sounds like you're running away to me." Gray stared at Natsu.

Suddenly, interrupting the once again dramatic moment the temple started crumbling again as it rocked back and forth. Raven braced herself against the shaking of the temple, before leaping back into the air with a mighty flap of her wings. The temple slowly began straightened itself again.

"What? No!" Natsu began pounding on the floor of the temple, completely forgetting about the situation with Gray for the time being.

"This is bad, now the moon's gonna shine on Deliora again." Gray concluded with a frown.

"Pardon the interruption." The masked man from before ran back into the ice cavern through the hole that Gray had left in the ice wall.

"I should have known." Lyon said addressing him. "I take it you did this?"

"Indeed I did sir. The moon will be out soon so I thought I'd take the liberty of straightening the temple for you."

"That weirdo fixed it all by himself?" Gray asked.

"And after we went through all that trouble to mess it up too." Natsu seemed only mildly irritated. "Hey, so what'd you do to fix it huh?" Natsu shouted. The masked man turned to them as if noticing them for the first time. He immediately began laughing. "Tell me how you did it you jerk!" Natsu overreacted.

"If everything else is in order I suppose I should commence the moon drip ceremony." He said, completely ignoring Natsu's question. Just like that, the man darted off again.

"Hey! Would you quite ignoring me you demon monkey!" Natsu screamed darting off after the masked man. "Get back here!"

"Natsu!" Gray shouted after him.

"I'm gonna pound him a million, no a billion times! I'll let you handle that ice guy." Natsu said from the doorway to the hallway. "It'll look bad if you lose again."

"Yea."

"And not just for you."

"I know what you mean."

"But for all of Fairytail." They said together. Natsu disappeared into the tunnel leaving Gray facing Lyon and Raven flying behind him.

"I'm going to help Natsu." Raven announced. She didn't trust the masked man and she knew he was more powerful than he let on.

"Right. I've got this covered." Gray nodded to her before she flew off down the hallway.

_Natsu, where'd you go?_ Raven thought as she darted as fast as her wings would carry her.


	11. Deliora

**Quick author's note: As always I hope that you are enjoying the story! I know its been a bit of a slow start with the character relationships developing but I think it will start to pick up somewhat in the next couple chapters so bare with me. I think I'm as excited for it as you guys are :) As always, if you really enjoy the story or if there's something that you want to see more of let me know in a review! I don't know how many of you guys have heard of NaNoWriMo but basically the idea is you write fifty thousands words in a single month, I think I'm going to try to make this my nanowrimo project! (it's supposed to be an original story but I think I'm pretty content working on this one so I'm just going to do that). Stay tuned for more chapters coming soon! End author's note**

* * *

_Dammit! That wrong turn really slowed me down. _Raven thought as she raced down a different hallway, her wings taking her far more quickly than any human could normally move. "I practice one of the lost magics." She heard echoing from the room in front of her. _Found you!_ Raven burst from the hallway, wings spread wide, just in time for him to continue. "In other words, both its strength and side effects are so powerful, it has been erased from history as we know it." He glanced to her with his smug grin.

"That sounds really conceded to me." Raven smirked right back.

"Raven?" Natsu seemed surprised by her entrance into the room. He looked even more surprised when he really saw her, massive, icy dragon wings flapping around her.

"Gray had the situation with Lyon under control." He said, never taking her eyes off their masked enemy.

"That Dragon Slayer magic of yours is no different." The man announced, drawing Natsu's attention back to him.

"Really?" Natsu sounded almost excited by this revelation. Raven ground her teeth. _How dare he compare us to himself. _She glared her anger at the man.

He only laughed again and then suddenly, disappeared. "Huh? Where'd he go? I'm sick of chasing him around!" Natsu gained a whiny tone to his voice that Raven didn't like. "I wanna fight." Her stomped his foot on the ground just like a child in a temper tantrum.

"Hey!" Raven snapped at him. Her anger with the masked man caused her to lash out a bit too harshly with Natsu. "Stop throwing a hissy fit and let's go. We need to get to wherever they are keeping this demon." Raven alighted on the ground gently and dissipated her ice wings so that she wouldn't out pace Natsu. The seriousness of her face brought Natsu back to the intensity of the situation.

"Right," He took a deep breath. "I know where we need to go." He told her, sprinting for a hallway. Raven could smell the perfume as well but decided to let Natsu lead the way, following right on his heels.

* * *

As they descended further into the temple the smooth walls faded, giving way to more rough stone walls. It was also darker the further they got into the tunnels, just still, Natsu never took a wrong turn. Suddenly the hallway ended abruptly and they stood in the door way to a massive cavern that was well lit with a crystal giving off light.

"Hey! There you are!" Natsu shouted angrily. There, standing on one of the rocks further off the shelf was the masked man they had been chasing. That is not what caught Raven's attention however. Instead, she was captivated by the massive ice casing surrounding the demonic being that had been at the heart of so many of her nightmares. She froze, completely lost to the world around her.

* * *

She gasped and sat bolt upright. She was breathing heavily as she desperately looked for the source of her fear. Sweat dripped down her brow and the back of her neck. The massive creature that had been resting peacefully beside her stirred, and yet her wild fear had not yet eased.

"What is it child?" The deep hum of Kayerith's voice filled her chest. She bit her lip, chewing as if she bit hard enough her tears would disappear. Slowly, as she realized she was safe, in her ice cavern, with Kayerith to protect her, her breathing slowed and her wild glances settled onto the dragon.

She swiped at her tears with the back of her hand. "It was a bad dream." She concluded. "It was just a bad dream." She whispered more to convince herself than to explain to Kayerith.

"Oh sweet child," Kayerith wrapped her tail more tightly around to push Ravenna closer to her body. She then rested her head on the ground across from Raven. "Tell me about your fears."

Raven looked at the ice dragon that had been her companion for the last several years of her life. She shook her head, unable to speak about it. "I can't." She sighed helplessly, her lavender eyes swelling up with tears once again.

"It has been years since this beast attacked your home." Kayerith said, blinking her beautiful blue eyes at the small girl. "And yet you still fear, unable to talk about it with me. You cannot sacrifice the peace of your future because of the fear of your past." The dragon drew in a breath and let out a puff of air through her nostrils. Small snowflakes began to fall, shimmering in the moonlight that filtered through the ice walls.

She spent a long while switching between watching Kayerith and looking at her hands, folded in her lap. "He's scary." She finally whispered. The dragon remained silent, as she so often did, and waited for Ravenna to continue. "He's got big teeth and claws." Raven shuddered and drew her blankets higher around her.

"He does not sound so different from me." Kayerith mused. "I do have large teeth and claws." She said clicking her jaw as if to demonstrate.

"But he's got glowing red eyes!" She said, louder than she intended. "He's scary, you aren't scary." Raven whispered, looking at her hands again. "He comes in my dreams, saying he's looking for the last one, saying he's got to kill the last one. He's talking about me. I try to run away from him but I can't cause he's too big. I can't fight him either. He's too strong, even with the magic you taught me." Raven felt the tear on her cheek again and wiped it away angrily. She hated showing weakness in front of Kayerith. "He laughs at me." She whispered. "He remembers all the people he killed and he makes me look at them. I can't look away, I have to see Grandma Saya in the snow, and Caroline, just as she opens the door, and Zazel…" Raven's voice trailed off as she thought of Zazel. Something about saying his name stirred a memory she felt like she should remember but couldn't. She looked up at the dragon, seeking solace in her blue eyes.

"And you do not believe that you are capable of beating this monster that haunts you?" Kayerith asked slowly after Raven had been silent for a moment. The little girl shook her head, tears in her eyes once more.

"I know I can't, he's too big, and strong." She explained.

"It would seem to me that you fear the memories he's left in your mind more than the actual creature himself." Kayerith observed. Raven thought about this for a moment.

"I don't understand" She said puzzled.

"You are afraid of what you think he is based on your memories, but you do not know what he actually is. You do not know his true power, only that he was able to take from you what you loved. You fear him because he was able to take that away." She tried to explain.

"I'll never see them again." Raven said, sullenly.

"No," Kayerith shook her large head. "You won't truly see them again. But," she paused, "these people will always be with you. The people that you love will always be here." Kayerith stretched her neck and gently touched her nose to Raven's chest, where her heartbeat was the strongest. "The next time he comes for you, you must remember the positive memories you have of those you love. Show him that he was not able to take these people from you and he will never hurt you again."

Raven stared at the dragon for a moment. "So, if I just remember the good things about them, like building snowmen with Zazel and Caroline, and helping Grandma Saya make hazelnut soup, he won't come back into my dreams?" Raven asked skeptically.

Kayerith sighed. "You must believe and remember the good things with all your heart. If you believe he was not able to take those people from you then he has lost his power over you. Only you can control your thoughts."

"Only I can control my thoughts." Raven whispered to herself with a certain edge of determination.

* * *

A roar, somehow familiar after all these years drew Raven back out of the past. Despite the shaking of the cavern her heart beat managed to be louder than the beasts roar. Everything around her slowed to a crawl and the images began flashing through her mind in time with each beat. The first explosion, Zazel's hand locked around her own. Caroline in the doorway. The snowman just before the beam fell on it. Deliora towering over everything. The red glow of Grandma Saya's magic. Grandma Saya in the snow. Zazel disappearing. _I can never forget that sound_.

Raven didn't even notice the tears that were streaming down her face. She was only vaguely aware of the fight Natsu was dealing with not far from where she stood. _Kayerith, what do I do now?_ Raven felt just like a child again, shivering in her. _I never thought I'd see him again and here I am, what do I do?_ She screamed internally, desperately wishing that the dragon was with her here.

_Only you can control your thoughts_. Kayerith's voice echoed in her mind.

"Only I can control my thoughts!" Raven roared back at the demon she now faced. "You have no power here!" She shook her head to clear her thoughts and clenched her teeth, trying to stop the tears. "Only I can control my thoughts!" She screamed again.

"Rah!" Natsu roared, fire streaming from his fist.

"Natsu!" Raven shouted, turning her attention away from the demon for the first time since entering the chamber.

"But I broke it, right?" Natsu grimaced as what appeared to be a glass orb smashed into his stomach.

"I have the ability to control an objects time, meaning I can take the crystal back in time to before it was broken." The masked man explained, noticing that Raven was now paying attention.

"What kind of magic gives you that power?" Natsu questioned.

"I practice one of the lost magics called the Arc of Time. It's extremely rare and quite powerful."

"Still conceded," Raven mumbled.

"Would you like to see what happens when I throw this crystal ball into the future?" He taunted with that same smug smile on his face.

Suddenly the crystal that he had been manipulating started moving so quickly that Raven could hardly see it. Natsu screamed out in pain as the ball crashed into him over and over from too many angles to block. Natsu swung wildly with a fiery fist and caught the crystal ball, shattering it. Right before their eyes the ball pieced itself back together and swung around to hit Natsu in the back of the head.

"Your fire won't help you!" He shouted at Natsu, who was winding up another punch.

"It stopped in midair."" Natsu exclaimed, aghast.

"Yes," the man said, a bit too creepily for Raven's liking. I also have the ability to freeze an object's time."

"Nice trick, but I'd be more impressed if it worked on people." Natsu threw at him.

"Ah, yes, that's rough. It's powerless on living things. Since Ur turned herself into the ice that encases Deliora, I cannot simply turn back the time on that ice to its pre-frozen state. That's why we are using moon drip." The man explained, with that same stupid smile that never seemed to leave his face.

"Let me ask you something. Why are you guys doing this?" Natsu asked him, relaxing out of his battle pose. "It seems to me like you're working hard trying to revive this demon just so Lyon can kill it to boost his ego. That's great for him and all but what are you gonna get out of it?"

"That's a good question." Raven whispered to herself, remembering the way he so blatantly mocked Lyon before.

"I can't say. I've only recently joined Lyon so I don't know enough to speak on behalf of the others." The masked man said, deliberately making Natsu fish for the right question.

"Okay, what about you then? What's your goal in all of this?" Natsu asked, clearly frustrated with the game. He raised his hands again, as if preparing to fight once more.

"You certainly know how to get straight to the point." He laughed again. "The Cold Emperor Lyon is an arrogant twit." _I can't say I disagree_. "He doesn't stand a chance against Deliora. That's where I come in."

"If he can't kill it we're in major trouble! Unless you are gonna defeat it yourself?" Natsu interrupted. _You're missing the point Natsu. _

"Don't be ridiculous. I want to control the demon!" _I knew it!_ "You see, there are spells that give the caster power over immortal monsters like this one here. With a single spell I'd become the most powerful man in the world because I'd have a demon at my beckon call." The masked man clenched his fist in the air as if he was imagining some other realty.

"Talk about a lame answer." Natsu frowned. "I'm sorry I even asked." For once the stupid smile was wiped from the masked man's face, but Natsu wasn't done. "That's what you're after? You think just having a monster is gonna make you tough? No way." Natsu was almost nonchalant in his reaction.

"I suppose you are too young to understand right now, but one day you'll realize how important it is to have power on your side." The man said loftily after his shock had pasted.

Natsu's fist erupted into flames again. "I've already got plenty of power on my side." He glanced at Raven, as if giving her a signal. "Cause all my friends in Fairytail have got my back!" _I may not be in Fairytail Natsu, but I certainly have your back_.

"If you let your cockiness get the best of you, you will fall exactly like the ceiling above you!" The man shouted and lit up the cavern with a strange white and black casting circle. The ceiling above them, just like he had said, began to collapse.

"I've had enough of you and your buddies screwing things up for the people of this land!" Natsu's fire surged more brightly around his hands. _That's it Natsu, just keep his attention!_ Raven willed as she pulled her large ice sword from a casting circle and jumped into the air with the aid of her wings. "It's time I put a stop to it!" Natsu shouted as she flew around behind the masked man.

"You don't seriously believe that you can stop my Arc of Time with your puny flames, do you?" The man shouted from under his casting circle. Natsu leapt forward as several dozen crystal orbs flew at him from the circle.

"I don't give a crap about your stupid magic!" He yelled as he threw a massive blast of fire. "I just want you off this island!" Natsu destroyed all his orbs with that single blast of fire.

The masked man jerked back in surprise of Natsu's show of force. "Told you that you were too conceded!" Raven shouted now that she was directly behind him. She shot forward and swung her sword as quickly as she could. It was the most satisfying feeling when her sword made contact with him, sending him flying into the air.

"I may not be able to control time but I can see the future!" Natsu shouted as he jumped through the smoke of his fire. "And I see me kicking your butt!" Natsu's flaming fist slammed into the man's face and sure enough he went crashing into the rocks beneath them.

"That was the cheesiest line I've heard in a long while!" Raven laughed as she alighted on the ground next to Natsu. He grinned at her.

"Nice team work!" He held up a hand for a high five and she enthusiastically reciprocated.

"That was awesome." She couldn't stop the grin on her face.

Suddenly, as if to shatter her joy, Deliora roared again and the last of the ice encasing the beast shattered. The demon raised its fists into the air, standing from its crouched position. Raven froze. _That sound_. She could feel the fear creeping back into her like some sort of dark magic.

"Hey! What are you doing here?" Natsu gave a confused look over Raven's shoulder and jumped several rocks over. Raven turned to see that Gray was standing in the water that had been Deliora's ice casing.

"Natsu," he said quietly.

"There's only one thing we can do now. We gotta take that thing down!" Natsu sounded so confident that Raven nearly believed him. Raven followed Natsu and jumped down to where Gray was standing.

"Neither one of you are strong enough." Lyon crawled, clearly half mad, into the cavern. "But I am. I will defeat it." Raven felt nothing but pity for the desperate child that Lyon still was.

"Lyon," Gray's voice was hoarse, as if he was trying to hold back his feelings.

"I'm going to surpass Ur, finally." Lyon laughed madly from his place on the cave floor.

"You can't fight. You can't even get up off the floor." Natsu pointed at him.

Deliora roared again and Raven felt her memories from childhood stir within her. "I've waited so long." Lyon said, smiling, almost lovingly at the creature. "For this moment." He rose to a single knee, bracing against a nearby rock. "She was strong, but not strong enough to kill that demon." Lyon struggled up to his feet, barely standing on shaking knees. "I'm going to do the one thing that Ur never could. Finally, my dream will be fulfilled." Suddenly Gray hit Lyon in the back of the head. Raven hadn't even realized that he had left the water.

"You've caused enough trouble," He said in that strangely calm voice. Lyon fell to the ground once more. "I'll clean up the mess you've made." Gray said, walking back into the water.

Raven could hear her heartbeat again, drowning out the rest of the world around her. It filled her years. "I'll seal the demon myself." She heard Gray's voice as if he was far away, somewhere in the distance.

"Iced-shell!" Gray shouted, starting the spell again.

"Don't do it Gray!" Lyon screeched from his place on the ground. "Do you have any idea how long it took me to melt that ice?" Lyon was shrieking at Gray to stop but Raven barely noticed over the flashing images in her head. Zazel's head clasped around her own. The snowman standing amidst the burning house. Caroline in the doorway. Grandma Saya lying in the snow. The demon roared again. Raven couldn't tell if it was a memory or real, here and now.

"Only I can control my thoughts." She whispered to herself. "Only I can control my thoughts." She clutching her head and squeezed her eyes closed. Tears leaked out to flow down the sides of her face. "Only I can control my thoughts." Her voice was growing louder. "Only I can control my thoughts!" She remembered that night, sitting with Kayerith, talking through her fears. "Only I can control my thoughts!" She roared back at the demon.

Her eyes flew open and her wings snapped wide, growing in size as she poured more magical energy into them. She raised her icy sword, which was also much larger than it had been.

"Raven!" Natsu yelled to her as she walked forward to the edge of the stone she was standing on. "You do not have the power to take anyone from me. My memories are my own." She swung her sword out and stared down the demon. Her shirt was blowing in the vortex of Gray's spell.

"Natsu, stop Gray! I didn't save his life before only for him to throw it away now." She said without looking at Natsu. The room filled with noise once more as the demon roared and pulled back a massive fist. She flashed forward, massive wings carrying her through the air.

"Raven!" Natsu shouted at her again. She didn't even slow down her charge. As soon as she was in range she swung her sword over her head, dodged past the demon's fist, and plunged her sword deep into the chest of the demon that had haunted her dream for years.

Green energy sparked around her blade. She roared her own fury at the beast and shoved the blade deeper into Deliora's chest. The energy sparked more. Suddenly, its skin began to crack around where her blade had been implanted. The cracks ran along the demon's skin. She could hear Lyon screaming behind her but she could not understand the words. Natsu and Gray were both screaming at her too. Green energy began bursting from Deliora's arms and legs as well as the cracks spread to the end of its limbs. It roared again, shaking beneath her, but she did not let go of the blade.

Chunks of the demon began to fall off into the water, creating massive waves in their wake. Raven saw it coming but couldn't bring herself to move. She came down with the demon as it crumbled around her.

She knelt, miraculously unharmed, in the water, processing what had just happened for a moment. She used her sword to steady herself. _It's finally over Kayerith. I avenged you Grandma Saya, Caroline. Zazel… I was able to do it. I defeated my demons. If only you were here to see how strong I am now. If only you were here._ A deep feeling of guilt stirred in Raven despite her victory. Again, she felt as if there was something she should be remembering but couldn' and carefully Raven began to rise out of the water just as Gray and Natsu appeared at her sides.

"Are you alright?" Natsu asked her. Raven turned to Natsu and Gray, tears still fresh on her face. She dissipated her wings and her sword into snow. _I've been freed from this nightmare. I'm sorry for the sacrifices you've made for me, but perhaps this can help to repay them._

Suddenly Gray grabbed her and pulled her into him. She and stood in shock as his arms wrapped around her. Slowly Raven relaxed into him and together they stood in the water that had been Ur and cried. "You saved my life, again." He whispered. Something told Raven that he wasn't just talking to Ur but also her.

His chest was warm, his heartbeat slow and strong. There was something in that embrace that made Raven crave more. She clung to him until her tears dried. "Thank you," she whispered after a while, pulling away from him. He smiled down at her. "You should take care of Lyon." She said quietly, nodding in the direction of Lyon.

"Yea," he replied, in the same soft tone. His eyes lingered on her for a moment before he turned back to Lyon, who was lying on the ground near the water. Natsu was talking to a red-haired woman Raven had never seen before and Lucy. Unsure of where she belonged, she lingered in the water.

"Come on guys! Let's go!" Natsu shouted to them all, waving. Raven smiled at Natsu and nodded.

Natsu and Lucy lead the way out of the temple, with the red-haired woman behind them. Gray was helping Lyon out of the temple. Raven wondered idly behind them, thinking. _Kayerith, for the first time since you disappeared I felt like I belonged to something. _


	12. The Villager's Story

**Quick Author's note: Hey guys! I'm back into the writing swing I think! I'm finally out of my sling and stuff so that's cool. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I actually really liked writing this one. Let me know if you guys like it please ^_^ end author's note**

* * *

"Oh yeah! That's right! We won!" Natsu shouted triumphantly to the sky once everyone was safely settled on the beach.

"Aye Sir!" His strange blue cat shouted right alongside him in agreement.

"You know, I was kinda worried for a while there. But it all worked out thanks to your amazing teacher." Lucy smiled gently at Gray. Her voice was quiet and as gentle as her smile. "And Raven," Lucy actually turned her smile towards Raven, who was leaning with a leg propped against the same rock formation as Gray.

"We totally finished an S-class quest all by ourselves!" Natsu leapt up onto a nearby rock and continued his dance of joy by jumping up and down.

"Do you think Master Makarov will let us on the second floor now?" Lucy was suddenly just as excited as Natsu, practically sparkling with excitement at the idea of being allowed up to the second floor. Raven watched, unsure of the significance of the second floor, but able to appreciate that it was obviously important to them.

Despite the obvious thrill of Lucy and Natsu, Gray remained silent during their celebration of victory. Raven remained silent with him, leaning against their rock, both with one leg propped. There was a kind of victory in this situation that didn't require jubilant celebration. It was something that Raven was certain only Gray and her felt. Deliora was a scar on both of their pasts and now that the demon was dead that scar could truly begin to heal. She shot him a sideways glance. He was still shirtless, with bandages, including her torn shirt, wrapping around his torso and shoulder. A small smile played at the corner of her lips. Raven wasn't sure how long he had been aware of her gaze, but he only now returned it. He mirrored her almost-smile as if there was some inside joke that only they could understand. He didn't need to say anything for Raven to understand he was saying thank you.

Suddenly the noise of Lucy and Natsu stopped, cut short by a single, angry look from the red-haired wizard that had followed Lucy into the Deliora cavern after the fight. "We have some things to take care of first. Starting with you." She said wheeling on Raven. Raven was startled by the seriousness of the woman's voice.

"My name is Raven Wintersong." Raven said, speaking for the first time since leaving the cavern under the temple.

"My name is Erza Scarlet. I'm an S-class wizard from the Fairytail guild. What guild do you come from? Where you responding to the ad posted by the villagers?" Erza questioned with the same stern expression she had been wearing since Raven met her.

"I'm not from a guild." Raven said after a slight hesitation. "I'm here on my own accord. I didn't even know there was an ad posted in the guild halls. I'm not interested in anything they offered though."

Erza regarded her carefully. Raven could tell that Erza wanted to push the reasons behind her presence on the island. Raven bit her lip in anticipation of the question that she had no idea how to answer without giving away the fact that she was also Dragon Slayer to everyone. As if Erza could sense her unease she wheeled back to the others. "Isn't there something that you're all forgetting about? You came to this island to help the villagers. The quest was for you to return them to their original forms. You still haven't completed your S-class quest yet."

"But I don't understand," Lucy said. "The curse should be lifted now because Deliora is dead."

"Wrong. This curse that you keep talking about never had anything to do with the demon. The villagers have been affected by the intense magical energy released by the moon drip spell. In other words, Deliora's death isn't going to change their current situation whatsoever." Erza turned her attention to the sky, Raven assumed the moon.

Lucy gasped. "Oh no," she said deflating visibly in disappointment.

"Well, then we better go and change them back!" Natsu exclaimed from a top his rock, as enthusiastically as ever.

"Aye sir!" His cat agreed with him again.

"Yea, but we don't know how." Gray interjected, reminding Natsu of the obvious flaw. "Wait," Gray turned and looked at Lyon, who had been sitting quietly against a rock behind them all. "Lyon, do you know?"

"To be honest, I don't have a clue." Lyon's voice was quiet and nonchalant. Despite his defeat he still had an air of lofty arrogance that grated on Raven's nerves.

"You don't _know_?" Natsu didn't even try to hide the accusation in his voice.

"But, they told us the curse started about the same time that you guys got here?" Lucy furrowed her brows in confusion.

"When we first arrived three years ago we were aware that there was a village somewhere on this island, but, we had absolutely no reason to communicate with the villagers so we left them alone. They never came to the temple to see what we were up to." Lyon explained to them, giving just enough of a shrug to show them he didn't care.

"In three years, you never once met?" Even Erza seemed confused.

"I don't understand. The light from the moon drip is so bright that you can see it from practically anywhere on the island. It's kinda weird that they saw it every night but never went to investigate." Lucy thought aloud.

"The villagers weren't transformed by the moon drip. It doesn't affect the human body." Lyon said matter-of-factly.

'What?" Erza sounded surprised.

"Yea right!" Natsu yelled at him. "You're just saying that so you and your lackeys will be off the hook!" Natsu glared at him.

"Just think about it." Lyon was staring at Natsu. "I've been exposed to it as long as they have and my appearance hasn't changed one bit." His tone implied they were all stupid for not realizing this sooner.

"Oh, yeah, that's true." Lucy put a finger on her chin in thought.

"I wouldn't trust them. Those villagers are hiding something." Lyon turned his head away from the group in defiance. "But I'm sure you _guild wizards_ can handle it." Lyon said, clearly ending the conversation. The snide tone in Lyon's voice seemed somewhat uncalled for to Raven, but she could still relate to the comment. Something that both she and Lyon had in common was their lack of a guild and because of that, the fact that guild wizards tended to look down on them. It was as if they thought because she chose not to be in a guild she wasn't as good as they were.

"We're not done with you," Natsu frowned at Lyon. "You destroyed the village and-"Erza grabbed Natsu's face, rending him unable to speak.

"That's quite enough Natsu. They were simply doing what they believed to be right so there's no need to criticize them for it. Let's go." She released his face and started to walk away from the group.

"But what are we gonna do to lift the curse?" He called after her.

"I have no idea." She called back over her shoulder.

"Oh, _great_," Lucy sighed, running to follow Natsu and Erza as they headed inland. Raven started to follow them before realizing that Gray wasn't following but instead looking at Lyon.

"What are you looking at?" Lyon growled at him.

Gray glanced back at Raven before he spoke. "I know you don't want to hear it, but you really should join a guild. You'd make new friends, meet new rivals, and maybe even find a new dream to live for." Despite the fact that Gray's words were directed at Lyon, she couldn't help but feel like they were meant for her as well. Raven only just caught the expression of surprise that revealed Lyon was touched by Gray's words. He quickly recovered and turned away yet again.

"Whatever," Lyon frowned at the ground. "Just, get out of here." The smile on Gray's face told Raven that he had also seen how his words and reached Lyon.

Gray did as Lyon bid him and turned away, following the voices of Natsu, Lucy, and Erza with Raven at his side. Raven felt as if there was something that she should say but couldn't quite figure out how to put her thoughts into words. The two of them walked in silence.

* * *

It didn't take the group long to find the storage area that the villagers had been living in with Lucy and Erza to guide the way. Raven didn't see a sole as they wondered into camp. The only sounds she could here were the insects and a nearby owl.

"That's weird, where is everybody?" The cat asked.

"You sure they came here?" Natsu asked, looking around before giving Lucy a skeptical look.

"Yea, this has been their camp." Lucy sounded concerned but Raven couldn't tell if it was for the villagers or for the group. "I wonder where they could have gone."

"Hello!" The cat called out loudly to the entirety of the camp, but there was no response.

"Since we're here I'm going to grab bandages and some medicine." Gray told everyone, heading towards a particular tent. "Wanna help me?" He stopped, looking at Raven.

"Who? Me?" She asked, startled at being addressed. She had been a silent shadow to the group save for the few words she had exchanged with Erza.

Gray chuckled softly, though Raven wasn't sure why. "Come on," He pulled back the tent flap and walked in, clearly expecting her to follow.

Raven hesitated just outside the tent for a moment. She sighed deeply. "What do we need to get?" She asked, pulling back the tent flap herself. She let out a puff of hair that fluffed her bangs when she saw Gray waiting there, arms crossed. _I knew it._

"I don't want to make this feel like an interrogation." He said to her as soon as he noticed her stiffened stance.

"Too late," Raven crossed her arms as well, matching his stance. He sighed loudly and relaxed, running a hand through his hair.

"I just-"he started the stopped. "I want-"he stopped himself again. "I just-"he stopped again.

"Spit it out." Raven said not unkindly.

"I just want to know why you helped us." He finally said.

Raven let out her own sigh and sat on a nearby crate. She pulled one leg up and rested her chin on her knee. "That's complicated." She said deliberately not looking at him. She wasn't in a situation to tell him her true motivation for coming to the island.

"Can you try to explain it?" He asked her, sitting on a crate opposite her own. She was suddenly acutely aware of their proximity as he settled into a comfortable position. He was eager she could see by the way he leaned towards her with his elbows resting on his knees. Sitting there was the first time that Raven noticed his necklace, a small cross pendant hanging on a silver chain.

She glanced at him before deciding what to say. His eyes, midnight blue, were almost pleading with her. She sighed in defeat and started her tale. "When I was little I lived in a small town in the North. I lived with an elderly woman that I called Grandma Saya. There were two other children that lived with us named Caroline and Zazel. They were brother and sister and had lost their parents, making them orphans as well. Grandma Saya had a habit of collecting the orphans in town. "Raven smiled at the memory. "Anyway, I was about six, maybe seven when my town was attacked by Deliora. He destroyed everything and everyone." Raven looked at the ground. "Grandma Saya saved my life, but at the expense of her own." She bit her lip. "Deliora killed Caroline and Zazel as well." She left her words hanging in the air between them, waiting for Gray to say something. When he didn't she looked back at him. He was just staring at her, a familiar pain in his eyes. "I guess, after having lost everything to him, I knew that I couldn't let Lyon, or anyone, resurrect him."

"I'm sorry," he said after a moment. "I'm sorry you had to know that pain." He words were simple but they rang with sincerity. Raven gave him a weak smile.

"It's behind me now I suppose." She said pensively.

"Still, it's hard to lose someone who's important to you." He hesitated for a moment before continuing. "This woman, you called her Grandma Saya, you said she adopted the orphans?" He didn't finish his question. He didn't need to.

"I never knew my real parents." It was Gray's turn to avoid eye contact. He seemed almost embarrassed that he had asked.

"What about you?" Raven asked quietly, trying to change the subject away from herself. "This obviously meant a lot to you, is that because of Ur? Will you tell me about her?"

Gray sighed in much the same way that Raven had before her story began. "Fair enough, you told me your story, I'll tell you mine. I was in a similar situation to you actually. I mean," he blushed slightly and Raven couldn't help but smile. "I knew my parents, I lived with them, but I was young when Deliora attacked my town. Ur and Lyon saved me from the wreckage that Deliora left behind. I lost my parents and everyone I knew that day. If it wasn't for Ur I don't know what I would have done." Gray's voice grew a distant tone, as if he was remembering something. "But I suppose it's behind me now." He smiled at Raven. She smiled back.

"Yeah, I suppose it is."

Just as she was going to say something else Natsu stuck his head inside the curtain. "Hey! What are you guys doing? Come on!" He motioned for them to follow him. "Hurry up!" He urged before disappearing again. Raven glanced at Gray, who shrugged.

"Better go check it out." She rose and headed outside, holding the flap open for Gray to follow.

Outside a villager beckoned for them to follow him. "Come on, there's something that you need to see!" He turned and ran back into the forest that surrounded the storage encampment.

Raven, Gray, and the other Fairytail wizards followed the villager through the trees and down a path for a little ways before reaching the village. There, where less than twenty-four before had been dust and acid holes, stood the village, completely intact. All the villagers were running back and forth, chatting excitedly about items they thought they had lost forever.

"Whoa, are you kidding me?" Lucy asked, incredulous as they came to a stop.

"Yesterday it was a total mess but now it looks perfect." The cat observed.

"What's going on here?" Natsu questioned with suspicion, knocking on the nearest wall. "Everything is back the way it was. It's like the village went back in time."

As soon as the words left Natsu's mouth Raven realized what had happened to the village. _No, there's no way. He wouldn't have, especially not after Natsu and I destroyed his plan. _

"Now that it's fixed you probably shouldn't touch anything, kay Natsu." Lucy gave him a look that said she was embarrassed for him.

Natsu wheeled on her, "are you saying I destroy everything I touch?" He was practically shouting her, though not seriously.

"Well, kinda." She sighed. Raven couldn't help but laugh at Natsu's expression.

"Huh, back in time." He repeated suddenly as if what he had said just hit him. _So, he came to the same conclusion as I did._ "Was it him?" Natsu asked, thinking aloud while stroking his chin. "Nah, couldn't be." He answered his own question. "Unless he had a change in heart," he countered himself. "Ah, who cares!" Natsu shrugged and started to walk away to investigate a different part of the village.

"Not me!" The cat shouted cheerfully, floating away behind him.

"What are you talking about?" Lucy asked Natsu, who ignored her.

"You probably don't want to know." Raven offered. "It's complicated."

"I don't want to deal with complicated right now," She sighed, looking around at all the villagers who still looked like demons beneath the moon. "Hmm, well I guess – Oh! I forgot about our stuff!" Lucy darted off into the village. _I should probably try to locate my stuff._ Raven thought, idly reaching for the necklace hidden beneath her shirt.

Raven wondered away from Erza and Gray and into the village. She watched the people as they celebrated over the return of their homes. _Bobo's grave is back_. Raven realized as she walked past the Chief kneeling in front of the stone that marked Bobo's grave. Unlike the rest of the village, he was quiet.

"You and your wizard friends used magic to restore our village didn't you?" He asked her when he noticed that Raven was lingering there.

"Uh… it's complicated, you see-"Raven was unsure how to explain what she thought had happened, but he cut off before she could figure it out.

"I can't tell you how much I appreciate it." Raven let out a sigh of relief and smiled at him. "However, I must know, when are you wizards finally going to destroy the moon for us?" He was staring at her intensely. Again Raven found herself at a loss for words, simply staring back. "Well?" He shouted when she had been silent for what he deemed too long.

"Destroying the moon is a simple task sir." Erza said calmly, rescuing Raven from her uncertain fate with the Chief. She was walking towards them with the others closely behind.

"What the…?" Gray looked at Erza as if she had gone crazy. "Did she just say that with a straight face?"

"Aye, maybe she's gone crazy?" The cat voiced the concern that all the others were thinking, save Natsu, who was too busy celebrating the idea of destroying the moon.

Erza ignored them all and continued addressing the chief. "But, before I do that I need to ask you all a few questions. Would you be so kind as to call everyone together for a meeting?"

Erza waited patiently while the chief collected the town's people. She ignored all the questions Gray, Lucy, or the cat asked her, instead insisting she had to talk to the town's people first. When everyone had gathered she addressed the crowd.

"Let me make sure I have my facts straight. The first anyone in the village took on these demonic forms is when the moon began to turn purple. Is that correct?"

"Yes, during the day we're fine but when the moon comes out we transform into what you see now." The chief explained.

"And the moon first turned purple about three years ago, right?" Erza asked. _What in the world could she possibly be after? _Raven thought as she watched Erza begin to pace.

"Wow, has it really been that long?" One of the villagers asked.

"We've learned that the moon drip ceremony has been performed on this island every night for the past three years. And each night it produced a beam of light so brilliant that you couldn't possibly have missed it." Erza was walking with her eyes closed, thinking carefully about her each of her words. Raven realized just a moment too late and suddenly Erza was gone, only a hole remained where she had been standing.

"Wow, even Lucy's pitfall trap is back." The cat exclaimed.

"She screamed like a girl." Natsu whispered in amazement.

"Yea, and it was cute." Gray agreed.

"I'm so gonna be dead meat when she gets out!" Lucy shrieked.

"You've got to be kidding me." Raven sighed. "For being great wizards you are all _really_ unobservant."

"Don't let Erza hear you say that." Natsu said in the same hoarse whisper.

"Seriously, didn't you ever wonder where that light was coming from?" Erza continued as if she had never even been interrupted as soon as she was out of the hole.

"She got up like nothing happened." Raven heard the villagers whispering to each other. "She must be pretty tough."

"I don't understand. Why didn't anyone investigate?" A ripple of whispered went through the villagers.

"Well," the chief said speaking up. "We would have looked into it but our village lore says we must never go near that temple."

"But who cares about village lore when your own people are dying?" Lucy asked.

"Really, that seems a little more important to me." Raven added. She had been careful not to say too much, still feeling like an outsider among the group of Fairytail wizards, but she couldn't stay quiet here.

"Yeah, you obviously knew there was a problem because you contacted the magic guilds." Lucy pointed out.

"Uh, well…" The chief's sentence dwindled and he looked at the ground.

"Why don't you tell us what's really going on here." Despite the fact that it was a question Erza left little room to disagree with her.

The chief sighed. "To be honest, we don't even know that ourselves. Allow me to explain. We've tried to investigate the light many times. We'd take up weapons we've never had to use. I'd trim and style my side burns and then we'd venture into the jungle towards the temple. But we could never get near it. We'd get close enough that we could see if through the trees and then suddenly we'd find ourselves back at the village gates."

Raven furrowed her brows. "But, how's that possible?" Lucy voiced what Raven had been wondering. "It doesn't make sense."

"We got into the temple without any problem at all. How weird," Natsu observed.

"We didn't say anything to you earlier because we were worried that you wouldn't believe us." One of the villagers explained.

"We're telling you the truth. We've tried to go back to the temple many times." Another villager said.

"Not a single villager has ever been able to get inside." Another added.

"I get it." Erza said quietly. Raven looked at her in surprise. "Yes." Erza confirmed her own thoughts.

Erza began walking away from the crowd. "Wait, what's going on?" Raven asked, but her words got drowned out by the awes of the villagers and Erza began to glow and was suddenly dressed in a completely different armor set.

"Natsu, come with me." Erza ordered. "I'll need your help to destroy the moon."


	13. The Feast

**Quick author's note: Hey guys! Next chapter here. Hope you guys like it. Let me know what you think in the reviews. This is definitely the longest chapter, hope you don't mind the length! I'll try to post the next one soon. 'Tis the moment many of you have been waiting for! But, the real question is what comes next, the next episode is a filler-ish episode that is about the characters switching bodies, do you guys want me to keep following the anime exactly episode by episode in which Raven's involvement in the guild will be slow to develop but will unfold eventually OR are you more interested in Raven's overarching story and you won't be offended or bothered by me skipping small things here and there so that her involvement comes more quickly? Let me know in a review please! ^_^ End author's note**

* * *

The joy that lit up Natsu's face at Erza's words terrified Raven. He was entirely too excited at the prospect of destroying the moon.

"Destroying the moon is the only way that we are going to be able to change the villagers back to their original forms." Erza said as matter-of-factly and calmly as ever. A cheer erupted through the crowd of gathered villagers in response to her words. _She can't be serious. Are all Fairytail wizards this insane?_ Raven couldn't stop her own thoughts.

"They're really going to do it! We get to watch it happen." One of the villagers in the crowd enthused. "That's right! And we are all finally going to be human again." Another exclaimed in response.

The enthusiasm of the villagers made Raven feel bad about her hesitation to believe in the ridiculous plan. "This is ridiculous. It will never work." She said almost guilty. Her voice was quiet enough to avoid the attention of the villagers but Lucy and Gray heard her. She crossed her arms across her chest and closed her eyes. "You can't just destroy the moon." She said confidently.

"Where do you want to go? Do you think we should climb up to the top of the temple? It's a lot higher up there." Natsu asked Erza with a grin. Raven was sure that he had been too excited about destroying the moon to hear her words.

"We'll do it from here." Erza said. She looked up at the sky and then around the village for the best place to attack from. "The villagers can't go near the temple and they need to witness this." She said before looking back at Natsu.

"I don't know what she's thinking." Gray shrugged, whispering quietly to Raven and Lucy. "I mean, she can do some amazing things but still…" Gray seemed as doubtful as Raven felt.

"What do you think she's gonna do to it?" Lucy asked them. Her voice held a certain level of fear that Raven didn't understand.

"They can't do anything from here." Raven said confidently.

"This is exciting huh?" The cat squeaked from around Lucy's shoulder.

"More like terrifying." She squeaked back.

"This is giant armor." Erza addressed the villagers and drew Raven's attention back to her. "It increases my strength and allows me to throw further." Erza explained to the villagers. Raven couldn't tell if the sideways glance at them meant that Erza had heard them or was simply seeing if they were paying attention. If she had heard them she didn't say anything to indicate that she had. "This," she lit up the area with a red casting circle for a moment before pulling forth a massive pole arm, "is the spear of Haja. It repels darkness." Raven had to admit that it was an impressive weapon. It appeared heavier than she would be able to wield. A wave of awe passed through the crowd at the sight of the spear that was several feet longer than Erza was tall.

"Whoa!" Natsu's eyes grew wide at the sight of the weapon. "I see what you are planning now. You are gonna use that spear to knock the moon out of the sky!" His enthusiasm for the task he was faced with only increased.

"Give me a break. That's never gonna work." Lucy, Gray, Raven, and the cat all sighed together.

"I don't know how many times I have to say this is stupid before someone will and listen. There's got to be something we are missing and 'destroying the moon' isn't going to work." Raven sighed and ran a hand through her thick black hair.

"Hey, I hear you. This is just wasting time." Gray agreed.

"That's right Natsu, but I'm afraid I need more strength than this armor can give me." Erza said, again Raven couldn't tell if she was pointedly ignoring them or simply hadn't heard them. "So Natsu, I'm going to need to use your fire power as a boost." Erza turned to Natsu, whose face, incredibly, lit up with even more joy. "When I begin to throw the spear, I want you to hit the back of it with your flames. We'll have to time our attack perfectly but I think you should give me just enough power to do the job."

"Sounds like a killer plan to me!" Natsu grinned.

"Then let's do it." Erza said walking towards the lookout tower on the edge of the village that she had picked.

"They don't really think they are going to pull this off, do they?" Gray whispered.

"Obviously they do." Raven whispered back.

"Well, I think they've totally gone off the deep end this time." Lucy added.

"This time? Seems like they've been off the deep end, at least Natsu has" Raven couldn't resist the joke. Both Lucy and Gray laughed. Though the cat glared at her there was no true hostility in the look. "I guess all we can do now is wait and see what she has planned." Raven added on a more serious note.

Once Erza and Natsu were situated on the tower Raven couldn't see much or hear anything that was being said between the two of them. She saw the glow of Erza's magic, the eruption of flames from Natsu and then the explosion of the top of the tower. They could feel the heat of the explosion on their faces from where they stood, watching. There were gasps from both the audience of villagers and the Fairytail wizards.

"She did it!" The cat shouted happily, no longer hiding behind Lucy.

Raven stared, completely aghast as the spear launched through the air.

"This is bad." Gray said as if he suddenly understood the gravity of what they were doing.

_Dammit. This is crazy!_ Raven prepared herself for whatever might happen; watching the spear carefully as it rocketed upwards, leaving a flaming tail in its wake. Suddenly, the spear struck something and the result was a spark of pink light. _What the hell?_ Raven squinted, trying to get a better look at the now tiny spear in the sky. A tiny crack appeared and quickly spread to a web of crack across the surface of the moon. _This is impossible._

"No way!" Gray and Lucy shouted together beside her. Shocked whispers flew through the crowd of villagers. Some filled with hope and others filled with fear. Suddenly, the cracks spread and whatever the spear had hit shattered, leaving the moon, as white and pearly as ever, in the sky.

"It wasn't the moon that shattered, it was the sky." Lucy whispered in awe. She held out her hands to catch the pink dust floating down.

"Don't be stupid." Raven said immediately, perhaps a bit too harshly. Her words earned her a glare from Lucy, though Raven ignored it. She was finally starting to understand what was going on here.

"What the hell is going on?" Raven heard Natsu ask loudly from the top of the tower platform.

"As a result of the spell a noxious membrane was covering the island." Ezra explained to him.

"A what?" Natsu looked at her with confusion.

"The moon drip released evil energy in the form of a gas. That gas then crystalized and formed and invisible shell in the sky that covered the island. That's why the moon looked purple here. Now that the shell has been broken, everything will go back to the way it was three years ago." Erza explained to him. Raven made note of her careful wording. _She specifically avoided saying that the villagers will go back to be being human. So it was the moon drip and I am right._

"What's wrong? They aren't transforming." Gray asked.

"Oh no," the cat whispered in a sad voice.

"That's because they aren't human." Raven told them.

"Very astute," Erza smiled at her with approval. "The moon drip never had any effect on their appearance; however, it seems to have had an effect on their memory." Erza was walking towards them.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked, looking between Raven and Erza.

"They think they are humans that have been transformed into demons." Erza began to explain.

"But it's the other way around." Raven finished. She had a small smile that showed she was proud of having figured it out.

A look of understanding passed over Lucy's face, immediately followed by a look of shock and fear. "Wait, so you are saying, they are really…" She let the question hand in the air.

"Yep, you got it." Erza smiled, both Gray and Lucy jumped back, clearly afraid of what that meant.

"Oh come on Gray, I never expected a manly guy like you to scare so easily." Raven teased Gray.

"Shut up, I wasn't scared." Gray blushed slightly, straightening up. Erza chuckled softly beside Raven.

"The villagers have always been demons." Erza finished. Lucy screamed and sank to her knees. Natsu screamed as well, still on top of the tower.

"Hey, is that true?" Gray shouted at one of the villagers.

"Well, maybe. My memory is hazy. We all looked pretty human when you met us didn't we?" The villager responded, obviously still confused.

"Yes, because you possess the ability to take on human forms. Your altered memories allowed you to believe that your temporary states were actually your true forms. In realty you were demons that had fallen victim to the moon drip's side effects." Erza explained to everyone.

"How come Lyon and them weren't affected?" Lucy asked.

"Because Lyon and them are human, right? The moon drip only affects non-humans, like the villagers." Raven answered confidently but still looked to Erza to confirm her ideas.

"Correct. I knew what was going on as soon as the villagers told me they were unable to go to the temple. The moon light collected there was sacred therefore creatures of darkness couldn't go near it." Erza smiled at them all, nodding to Raven.

"You are quite the detective. I knew I could trust you and your friends. Thanks wizards, I owe you one" When Lucy saw the source of the voice she screamed yet again.

"Ghost!" She was screaming, clinging to the cat for dear life.

"You are the guy from the boat!" Gray shouted, clearly alarmed.

"Who are you?" Raven asked him, confused at Lucy and Gray's extreme reaction.

"But I thought you were…" A villager shouted, letting his words dwindle.

The demon smiled. "Getting stabbed in the chest hurt pretty bad but you gotta do more than that to kill a demon."

"Okay, I'm confused." Raven shrugged, slightly annoyed that her question was ignored.

"But, on the boat you just disappeared into thin air." Gray challenged, clearly not buying the story of the stranger. Just like that, the man disappeared.

Lucy shrieked and switched from clinging to the cat to clinging to Gray. Raven sighed and pointed up.

"I really hope you kids can forgive me for not telling you the truth sooner." The man's voice called down from above. When they looked up they saw the man with a pair of large wings stretched out.

"He can fly?" Gray asked, surprised.

"Obviously he can fly. He's flying." Raven said sarcastically, clearly implying that Gray's question was stupid.

"I was the only on that didn't have memory loss. I had to leave because everyone went nuts. I knew I was a demon but everyone else suddenly thought they were cursed humans." The man smiled down at them.

Suddenly the chief shouted. "Bobo!" He leapt into the air to hug his now alive son.

"I'm so glad you snapped out of it Pops!" Bobo shouted, returning the hug.

Suddenly all the villagers began cheering and flew up into the sky as well.

"They all can fly?" Gray asked.

"Yes, clearly they can all fly. They're flying." Raven said in the same dead pan, sarcastic tone.

"Would you cut that out?" He asked, though his tone revealed he wasn't actually offended.

"Only if you stop asking stupid questions," Raven teased with a smirk.

"They're definitely demons alright." Erza smiled at the villagers in the sky.

"I don't know," Natsu said, joining them on the ground. "If you look at their faces, they kinda look more like angels to me." He smiled upwards as well. Lucy and Gray joined in on grinning upwards. Raven bit back the desire to make another sarcastic comment about being cliché.

"Let's have a feast tonight to celebrate!" The chief shouted.

"It'll be an all-out demon party! One of the villagers shouted in response.

Lucy cringed weakly, "I don't know that I'm rowdy enough to party with demons."

"Me either." The cat agreed.

It didn't take long after the announcement of a feast for the villagers to land and begin the preparations. Both Raven and the Fairytail wizards were under strict orders to relax while they set up the feast area in the center of the village.

All around them villagers lit torches, long tables were set up, and food was cooked in large pits.

"You should sit by me." Lucy smiled at Raven.

"You… want me… to sit by you?" Raven said slowly, surprised by the invitation.

"Of course!" Lucy grinned and grabbed her arm, leading her to an open spot near Erza, the chief, and Bobo.

Raven looked around, watching the festivities get underway. Natsu, who had lit the ends of some sticks, was happily eating the fire off the end of them, careful not to let them go out. _Man, what I would give for some ice right now._ Raven thought jealously. The thought of ice then turned her mind to Gray. It didn't take long for her to find the shirtless boy leaning against a fence, sipping from a bowl. Just as Raven's gaze found him so did some of the village girls. She was too far away to make out what they were saying but it was clear they were fawning over him. One of the girls turned into a young human girl with short black for a moment and recognition crossed Gray's face. Raven furrowed her brows in concentration, trying to hear what was being said. Suddenly all the girls began shrieking in excitement at something he has said. Raven frowned subconsciously. They then proceeded to drag him away, towards a makeshift dance floor.

"Looks like someone's getting a lot of attention from the ladies," Lucy, who had followed Raven's gaze, teased. For a reason Raven couldn't put her finger on Lucy's words irritated her.

"He'll scare them off sooner or later." The cat said. Raven wanted to ask what he meant but hesitated for some reason. The chief took the chance to fill in the gap.

"Well, I have to admit, I was wrong about humans." He said in his quiet, hoarse voice. "All these years we've chosen to hide from the outside world. We were so afraid that other's would judge us by our appearance."

"You know the curse? That was just a rumor we spread so no one would come to the island and bother us." Bobo added to the explanation.

"Well, it worked because the sailors at the dock were terrified. No one wanted to come here." Lucy said.

"No kidding, I had to fly all the way here." Raven's tone showed that she was still slightly grumpy about that.

"I know. It's a shame. But, after meeting you we've changed our minds." The chief replied. "You've restored our faith in humans and now we're not afraid. We are ready to go out and befriend people from other lands."

"That's good. Friendship is a beautiful thing. It's an emotional bond that transcends one's physical appearance." Erza said with a gentle smile. While everyone else beamed at Erza's words, Raven found herself looking at her hands, locked into her own thoughts. _What am I still doing here? I'm not a part of this guild. I'm not after the reward. I doubt Natsu knows anything about where Kayerith is. I should leave. These aren't my people and my search isn't over._

"I'll be back later." Raven announced suddenly coming to a conclusion. Lucy gave her a surprised look.

"Oh, okay. Well… I'll save your seat!" She smiled at Raven.

"Yea, thanks." Raven said somewhat awkwardly before walking away. _I'm sorry Lucy._ Raven thought as she walked away, knowing she wouldn't be back. As soon as she saw a moment Raven ducked away from the party and found the building their belongings were being kept in. She located her backpack, dug through it to make sure everything was there, and then loaded it up onto her shoulders. _Well, I guess this is goodbye_. She sighed and gently closed the door behind her on her way out. She skirted the festivities and was just about to dart for the gate when she saw them. Lyon's minions were entering the village.

Raven hung back in the shadow of the building, out of view of the villagers.

"How can I help you?" Erza addressed them from her seat.

"You Fairytailers are tough. The Cold Emperor is so banged up he couldn't even make it down here." Yuka, the blue haired one that Natsu had fought said.

"That's why we've come to pay you a visit in his place." The girl that Lucy had fought said. Raven had never caught her name.

"Wait just a minute, I thought we were cool. Didn't Lyon tell you guys what happened?" Lucy stood up.

"Yes, but that doesn't matter to us." Yuka told her.

"We wanted to settled things with you ourselves." The girl finished.

"Alright, why don't you show me what you've got!" Natsu issued the challenge then filled his hands with fire. _Something doesn't seem right. They aren't on the offensive. It doesn't seem right._ Raven stayed in the shadows, hoping to avoid detection.

"Wait Natsu," Bobo called. "Thanks for the help but we can't keep relying on you so let us fight them." There were words of agreement from several others before Erza rose and stepped forward.

"Normally I would agree with you gentlemen but I think it's best if I handle this one." Erza walked past them to the front of the village to meet them.

"We meet again Titania of Fairytail." The girl smiled slightly. "You gave dear Angelica quite the beating earlier."

"She seems like a formidable opponent." Yuka agreed. _What is going on?_ Raven bit her lip.

"Watch out for that creepy chick. She can control inanimate objects!" Lucy shouted to Erza.

"And don't even bother trying to use you magic against old mega brows." Natsu added. Raven covered her mouth to stifle the laugh.

"Is that so?" Erza said contemplatively." In that case," she darted forwards "I'll do it the old fashioned way!" A vicious kick collided with the stomach of the girl and a moment later an elbow connected to Yuka's cheek.

Both went flying and landed in the dirt. There was exclamations from Gray and Lucy.

"You are truly an amazing warrior." The girl said, struggling up from the blow.

"No kidding, we're no match for you." Yuka smiled sadly and rubbed his cheek gingerly.

"Wait, so you're not here to attack us?" Lucy asked, surprised.

"I doubt this is going to make up for all the trouble we've caused you but we wanted to apologize in person." Yuka told them, addressing everyone.

"Oh, so you guys came here to settle things in a _good_ way." The cat exclaimed happily.

"The Cold Emperor told us everything. Thanks to you we can finally let go of the pain Deliora cause us so many years ago." The girl's voice was quiet yet Raven could still hear the sadness that had been so familiar to her.

"You mean you were victims of Deliora too?" Gray asked them.

"When we were children the monster ravaged our village. We watched it murder all our friends and family." Yuka explained.

"The Cold Emperor had a plan to kill the demon once and for all. That's why we joined him." The girl added.

"You see, we wanted revenge and we were so focused on getting it that we never realized we were hurting innocent people." Yuka continued.

"We were so blinded by our hatred that we ended up acting no better than the demon itself. From now on we'll treat other people with respect and _love_." The girl looked down at her feet.

There was a pause of silence when their tale ended then suddenly, "alrighty then!" Natsu's voice rang out across the village. "You guys should stick around and join the feast!" He grinned at both of them.

"But, we were enemies a second ago." Yuka exclaimed as Natsu came and clapped them both on the shoulder.

"I don't think it's a good idea because I'm trying to watch my figure and-" the girl started to protest.

"Enough with the excuses! Live a little, would ya?" Natsu cut her off and dragged them both back to the tables. "Okay! Now I'm ready to party!" He shouted once they were both seated. Natsu's enthusiasm seemed to infect everyone else and soon the party was in full swing once more with Yuka and the girl in the center of it all.

Raven peaked around the corner to make sure no one was looking before darting to the gate. She sighed as she looked back at the village one more time. Something in her desperately wanted to stay, wanted to make these people her true friends. Another part of her was afraid to stay, afraid to make connections again.

"Where are you going?" A voice from behind her asked. Startled, she whipped around, magic at the ready, but relaxed when she saw Gray standing between her and the exit. His arms were crossed over his chest in a defiant stance.

"I don't know yet honestly, wherever the wind takes me I guess." Raven said nonchalantly, avoiding his real question.

He sighed in frustration. "I mean why are you leaving? Why are you sneaking out without saying anything to anyone?" His tone was accusatory.

Raven hesitated. "I'm not good at goodbyes." She said finally. She shrugged, still trying to play the cool card. "I'm a drifter, and my work here is done." She added. _Expect I never talked to Natsu_. Raven reminded herself.

"You can't just leave like this though." Gray furrowed his brow, clearly serious.

"Why not?" Raven matched his expression and stance.

"Because- just- do you always do this?" Gray seemed flustered and almost angry.

"Do what?" She asked even though she knew exactly what he meant.

"Push everyone that you find a connection with away? Run away like you are a scared child!" He seemed actually angry now.

"You don't know the first thing about me." Raven nearly shouted at him. She was aware of how childish she sounded but she didn't care. Her face grew red with anger. "You don't know who I am, where I've been, or what I've been through so back off!" She growled at him. _Only because you won't stick around long enough for him to find out_, a voice in the back of her mind whispered and just like that all her fight was gone. "Look," her voice was suddenly very quiet. "If I'm never close to anyone then they can't leave me." She was looking at her feet but her hand reached up to touch the necklace that Kayerith had left for her. She bit her lip again. "Just let me go, please." She looked up at him, lavender eyes pleading. She was certain they had gained the attention of at least some of the party goers.

Gray's expression softened almost instantly. "Come back to Fairytail with us." He whispered.

"What?" Raven stared at him in shock.

"Come back to Faiytail with us." He repeated, this time more confidently.

Raven shook her head, "I can't."

"Why not? You've got somewhere else you are going?" Gray asked her almost sarcastically.

"Well, no." She shifted from foot to foot uneasily and bit her lip, refusing to make eye contact.

"Then come back. Lucy only just joined us so you won't be the only new member. We are like a family." There was an edge of excitement in his voice. "No one gets left behind." He whispered to her more seriously. _No one gets left behind._ She repeated the words in her mind and thought of Kayerith's letter.

Raven looked at Gray and then turned to look back at the partiers. Lucy, Natsu, and Erza were all standing there, on the edge of the party, watching them. They all smiled at her. Raven could feel the tears welling up in her eyes as she turned back to Gray.

"Oh man," she said, wiping them away with a choked laugh. "You got me going all soft and stuff."

"So you'll come back with us?" Gray asked her quietly.

"You really want me to?" She counter questioned.

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't." He pointed out with a smile.

Raven hesitated before saying, "yea, alright then."

"Come on, let's go back to the party." Gray smiled and lead the way back to the party.

The party went on late into the night. Raven didn't remember falling asleep but she awoke the following morning to the sun bright above her. She rubbed blurry eyes and stretched. Slowly she sat up with a yawn. Natsu was awake already and eating more fire for breakfast. Raven gave him the same jealous look as the night before. _Baby steps. I'll tell them I'm a Dragon Slayer too eventually._

"I think it's going to leave a scar." She heard Lucy's voice behind her. She turned and saw the blonde examining Gray's forehead.

"So what, it doesn't matter to me." Gray shrugged, clearly trying to act all tough guy.

"What's going to leave a scar?" Raven asked sleepily as she approached them.

"Gray's got a cut on his forehead. It's going to leave a scar on his face." Lucy said dramatically.

"Let me see," Raven demanded. She pushed back the hair on Gray's forehead without thinking. Suddenly realizing their proximity and casual contact she jerked away and blushed slightly.

"I don't mind having a few scars as long as I can see them." Gray explained. His eyes were focused on Raven as he continued. "It's the ones you can't see that sting." Raven was touched by his words but refused to show it.

Lucy, completely missing the point of his words, smiled flirtatiously. "Well, aren't you the smooth talker." She winked at him.

"So you've got invisible scars?" Natsu asked as if Gray was stupid.

"Shut up Natsu! Every time I say something cool you gotta ruin it!" Gray yelled at him. Raven and Lucy laughed at him.

"How was that cool?" Natsu mumbled.

"But miss, you deserve the reward so take it please." They all heard drifting from the front of the village.

"What's that about?" Raven asked as they all wondered over. Erza was talking with the chief, Bobo, and several other villagers.

"Thank you, but your gratitude is payment enough." Erza said kindly.

"That's nice but you should take the money." The chief insisted.

"I can't because your request was never officially accepted by the guild." Erza explained to him.

"Would you two shut up!" Raven growled at Natsu and Gray, who were still bickering.

"It fell into the hands of foolish wizards trying to prove themselves." She continued.

The chief laughed. "Foolish as they may be if it wasn't for them we never would have been saved. What if I give you the money not as a reward, but instead as a thank you gift?" the chief asked. "It's the least I can do after everything you've done for our village."

"I said _shut up_!" Raven hissed at them. This time they quieted down, though they were still grumbling at each other. "Are they always like this?" Raven asked Lucy.

"Yea, basically." She shrugged.

"When you put it that way you make it hard to say no." She smiled. "I'm sorry, accepting your reward would be contrary to our guild's principals. However, we'd be happy to take the Gate Key you offered along with it." She said. Lucy's face lit up with joy.

"At least let me take you back to Hargeon." Bobo offered.  
"Thank you, but I have a boat waiting sir." Erza said, looking over her shoulder.

Erza graciously accepted the gate key from the chief before grabbing the handle to a large cart filled with boxes and crates and walking away.

"What's she doing with that?" Raven whispered to Lucy. "I thought we weren't taking a reward."

"Oh, that?" Lucy gestured towards Erza cart. "That's just her luggage." She said nonchalantly.

"Her luggage!" Raven was floored. "That's insane. Everything I owe is in this pack." Raven stared at the cart and shook her head. "How do you pack that much for a couple days?"

"That's just Erza for you," Lucy shrugged.

Even with Erza's luggage cart it didn't take them long to find the shore, where, sure enough a massive ship was waiting for them.

"That's a pirate ship." Gray said.

"Are you kidding me?" Lucy snapped. "Did she hijack it?"

"This is awesome." The cat whispered with big eyes.

"Ahoy me beauty!" One of the pirates shouted down to them.

"Me beauty?" Lucy asked with disbelief.

"That's right, they've become quite fond of me." Erza said smugly.

"That's the great Erza for ya!" The cat threw in.

"Gez, you're such a suck up." Lucy sighed.

"Ahoy! Come abroad me ship mateys." The presumably pirate captain shouted down to them.

"I don't wanna! I don't want to ride that creepy boat!" Lucy shrieked.

"If you wanna swim I'll join ya," Natsu grinned over his shoulder.

"Are you insane!?" Lucy screamed at him.

Eventually they got Lucy aboard the ship and set sail. From the beach Raven could hear the villagers shouting their good byes.

It took approximately thirty seconds of being on the ship before Raven remembered. "Oh no," she ran to the side of the ship and hung herself over the edge.

"Not you too." Lucy sighed.

"Me too…?" Raven sighed weakly.

"Natsu also gets motion sick." Lucy said matter-of-factly. As if that was his queue Natsu appeared next to her, hung head low. He groaned and Raven felt his pain.

"Wake me when the trip is over." Raven groaned to the others.

* * *

Raven was shaken awake. She groaned. "Don't…" She mumbled to the person shaking her.

"Come on Raven, we are back on solid ground." Gray's voice broke through her cloud of restless sleep. She opened her eyes and they were at the Magnolia train station.

"I hate traveling." She mumbled angry. Her stomach flipped at the thought of travel. She moaned and clutched her stomach.

"Come on, we aren't even moving anymore. Man, you're as bad as Natsu." He said.

"Give me a minute." She took a deep breath and then gingerly rose to her feet. Once outside the train the air felt fresh and her stomach's response was nearly instantaneous. "That's better," she breathed deeply.

"We're home!" Natsu yelled to the town.

"Aye Sir!" His cat agreed.

"I'm bummed, all that time and hard work for some loosely gate key." Gray frowned. They began walking back towards the guild hall.

"Yeah, and that S-class reward was big time money." The cat said.

"Well, I'm sorry but it wasn't an official job. Just be glad you got something." Erza said.

"She's got a point, now quit your complaining." Lucy smiled at the rest of them.

"That's pretty easy for you to say, you got a reward." Suddenly the cat's face lit up. "Can we well it?" He asked, hope on his face.

"How could you even suggest that Happy?" Lucy asked horror-struck. _Finally! A name! _Raven sighed in relief at being saved from the awkwardness of asking his name. "You just don't get it. They're hard to come by. Sure, there are a lot of silver Gate Keys but there are only twelve gold Zodiac Keys. And I'm lucky enough to have five." Lucy looked quite pleased with herself.

"You're a celestial wizard." Raven suddenly realized.

"That's right." Lucy grinned at her.

"It's too bad they're all crazy." Natsu smirked over his shoulder at Lucy.

"You better watch your mouth you punk! Me and my celestial spirits are going to be stronger than you some day." Lucy fumed.

"So, which one of the Zodiac Keys did you end up getting?" Gray asked, turning towards Lucy.

"It's Sagittarius the Centaur." Lucy grinned and gave him a thumbs up.

"It's a horse man?" Gray was suddenly simultaneously excited and concerned. Raven laughed at his expression.

"You are all so care free." Erza stopped walking. "It's like you've all forgotten that you face punishment when we get back to the guild."

Raven couldn't help but smile at their horror struck faces.

"But why?" Natsu pleaded.

"Everything worked out in the end. Can't we just forget the whole punishment thing?" Lucy begged.

"You are right. Everything worked out, but only because I showed up and finished the job none of you were qualified to do. Stealing an S-class quest is a serious offense." Erza said despite their begging.

"We said we're sorry." Lucy whispered, as if that was going to change Erza's mind.

"If you promise never to do it again I _guess_ you don't need to be penalized by the guild." Erza said. _She's messing with them._ Raven realized. Her smile turned into a grin.

"Dammit Raven, this isn't funny we could be in serious – you mean we aren't in trouble?" Natsu switched from yelling at Raven to asking a question with hope in his voice.

"I have no idea. I have no say in the matter." Erza gave a small smile. The grin faded from Raven's face. _Not exactly how I thought she was messing with them._ "Your fate is in Master Makarov's hands so I'm sure you'll be facing punishment." Erza was straight faced as well.

"You don't think he's gonna do the…" The cat shrieked in fear.

"Just kill me now! I don't think I could live through that again!" Gray crouched on the ground, clutching his head.

"You guys are freaking me out!" Lucy shrieked. _Right, she's new too, she doesn't know what's going on either._

"Don't let him scare ya, I'll talk the Old Man out of punishing us. That guy loves me." Natsu patted Lucy on the shoulder affectionately.

"I don't know if you should do the talking." Lucy told him.

"Natsu, you can't talk your way out of this one." Erza told him. "Good luck with that." The smirk on Erza's face revealed that whatever was going on wasn't truly that terrible. She began to laugh manically.

Raven watched as Natsu slowly cracked under the sound until finally he screamed. "No! Don't take me." He tried to dart away but Erza grabbed the back of his shirt. "No! Don't! Anything but that!" Natsu was screaming as Erza carted him off down the street.

"Would somebody please tell me what that is? I'm totally freaking out!" Lucy screamed.

"I would, but I don't know." Raven shrugged, grabbed Erza's cart and followed her down the street. _I think I'm really going to like this guild._ She thought just as the Fairytail guild hall came into view.


	14. Changeling

**Quick Author's note: Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter for you! I know this one took a little while but I changed a couple things I wanted to do with the story much later on so I decided to go back and edit through some stuff. I've have thus changed everything that needed to be changed. For those of you that have been reading and saw the original versions there's generally some small stuff in a lot of the chapters but really only the ones with memories (mostly Chapter 7) changed dramatically. I hope you guys don't mind but I think it will make the story better in the long run! I hope you guys like this chapter! It was entertaining to write and I found a way to make it important :) I also decided to change my little profile icon to a character that I photoshopped to look kinda how I imagine Raven to look if you are interested in looking at that! I plan on giving her an actual description in the story in the next chapter though. Please read, enjoy, and then leave a review if you want! It also wouldn't hurt to click that little favorite button ;) I'll be out with another chapter soon hopefully! End author's note**

* * *

"Is Master Makarov here?" Erza threw open the guild hall doors dramatically with a crash.

Entirely unfazed, Mirajane walked around from behind the bar and smiled a greeting. "You are finally back from your island get-away. So, how was it? Did you have fun?" Mirajane's voice was light hearted and warm.

"It was work, not a vacation." Erza growled at her.

"Uh, Mirajane, I wouldn't joke with her right now." Lucy warned in a high pitched voice behind Erza. _Man, Erza's mood certainly changed quickly. Just a few minutes ago she seemed so light hearted._ Raven decided that keeping her mouth shut and waiting was the best course of action for the time being. Erza would deal with her when she was ready.

"Where is Makarov?" Erza demanded to know when no one answered her question. Raven was reminded of herself just a few days before demanding to know where Natsu was.

"He went out of town for some last minute council meeting or something like that." A man with a large S necklace approached them. "He's been gone since yesterday." Erza scowled.

"Whew, well, that was a close one!" Natsu grinned.

"Yes! We won't have to deal with _that_ until Gramps gets back." Gray matched Natsu's triumphant grin.

"Oh thank goodness! I wasn't ready to stare into the face of death. I've still got eight more lives." Happy cried joyfully.

"I can't stand it anymore! You guys are really freaking me out. How's he gonna punish us? I can't die now. I'm still young and I have so much to look forward too." Lucy just kept babbling.

Throughout their various exclamations Raven had been watching Erza in silence. Erza's face was growing darker with every word that left their mouths. _She's gonna snap. Here is comes_. Raven looked down at her feet and braced herself against the outburst she could see rapidly approaching.

"All of you _shut up!_" Erza roared. Instant silence fell on the guild hall. If they hadn't been before, everyone's eyes were certainly on them now. Raven tapped her index fingers together and stared at them with an intensity that suggested they were the most interesting thing she'd ever seen. "Do you know when Master is planning to return?" Erza asked Mira in a much more calm and reasonable tone.

Amazingly, Mirajane's smiled never seemed to have left her face. "No, but I would imagine he'll be coming back anytime now." Mirajane said thoughtfully. "Who's this Erza?" Mira asked, peeking behind Erza at Raven, whose eyes were still firmly fixed on her hands.

"This is Raven, she's going to be joining Fairytail. That's part of the reason I was hoping Master Makarov would be here." Erza explained.

"Well, hello Raven." Mirajane turned her smile towards Raven. "I'm glad that you've decided to join Fairytail." _I wonder if Mirajane remembers me. I don't want her to thing I'm mean… Oh man, what should I say? Should I tell her it was me? No, if she doesn't remember maybe I shouldn't say anything. I can talk to her later. Now I've just been staring at her without responding! Ah!_

"Hi," Raven chirped awkwardly. _Oh man, genius Raven, genius. _

"You mean she's joining Fairytail?" The man with the big S necklace grinned. "I'm glad too; we could always use more pretty ladies in the guild. You might have some competition Mira!" Raven blushed red at the compliment.

Mirajane laughed lightly, the sound was somehow graceful. "You'll meet everyone as time goes on but we can introduce you to the ones that are here now. I'm Mirajane of course, if you need any help with anything regarding the guild don't hesitate to ask."

"I've heard of you." Raven returned her smile, still feeling somewhat self-conscious about being compared to Mirajane. "You are pretty famous." Mirajane giggled.

"I'm Macao," the man with the S necklace nodded to her. "And this is Wakaba." He gestured to the man with the cigarette that had approached with him. He pulled the cigarette out of his mouth.

"Nice to meet you," Wakaba nodded as well.

"Macao and Wakaba," Raven repeated trying to commit their names to memory. Both gentlemen seemed older than many of the guild members so Raven thought she wouldn't have a problem remembering them.

"We can do introductions later." Erza interrupted them. "Now listen up you fools!" She shouted, wheeling on Lucy, Natsu, Gray, and Happy, who had all been waiting for Erza to turn her attention back to them. "You're not getting off the hook. You broke guild rules by taking on that S-class quest. Prepare to be punished!" Natsu, Gray and Happy actually squealed in fear.

"How am I supposed to prepare myself for something when I don't know what is going to happen?" Lucy wailed.

"Well, it was nice knowing you." Wakaba laughed at them form behind Erza. "It's a crying shame. Those two boys are one thing but I can't believe Lucy is getting punished too. Oh, you poor girl." He took the cigarette from his mouth again so that he could frown more dramatically.

"You poor girl?" Lucy whispered, her eyes filling with a whole new type of fear.

"What's the deal mean? How come you don't feel sorry for us?" Natsu questioned threateningly as both him and Gray prowled towards Wakaba menacingly.

"Why are you lumping me in with this loser?" Gray demanded to know. Natsu stopped and stared at Gray with an offended expression. Spontaneously he unloaded a punch into Gray's gut.

"What's that supposed to me?" Natsu growled as his punch connected. It only took a moment for Gray to retaliate and punch Natsu back. Without warning, just like that, the two boys were in a full-fledged brawl in the middle of the guild hall. Insults were shouted back and forth between the two and it seemed that both their punishment and Wakaba's initial insult were both forgotten.

"A big part of being a man is owning up to your actions." A massive man with the same white hair as Mirajane had approached behind Raven to watch the fight between Gray and Natsu. "You hear that you two? It's high time for you to man up!" He shouted at the fighting boys. "At least they aren't using their magic yet." He shrugged. "By the way," He looked down at Raven. "I'm Elfman Strauss, Mirajane's brother." He extended a massive hand towards Raven.

"I'm Raven." Raven smiled and returned his handshake even though her hands were only half the size of his.

"It's not fair! I'm the cutest one here so how come nobody feels sorry for me?" Happy cried floating past Elfman and Raven.

"Will someone _please_ tell me what is going to happen to us?" Lucy was pulling on her own hair and her voice revealed the extent of her stress.

"Enough!" Erza roared at them all again. Silence followed. Raven would have sworn she could have heard a pin drop in the guild hall in that moment. "I don't want any more bickering out of you two." She glared at Gray and Natsu. They both nodded over enthusiastically.

Raven," She addressed her. Erza's tone was completely different now that everyone had quieted down. Her voice was gentle again and there was a small smile on her face. "This is the Fairytail guild hall. You've met Mirajane and her brother Elfman. Wakaba and Macao," Erza gestured to the older gentlemen. "You of course you've met Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and I." Erza turned to the next closest individual. "This is Cana Alberona." The young woman Erza had gestured too was around Raven's age. She was gorgeous with beautiful, long brown hair and deep purple eyes.

"Hey, welcome to the club." Cana raise her glass in the air as if to 'cheers' with someone but she was the only one drinking. "I can drink to a new member." She up-ended the glass and presumably finished whatever was inside.

"No all of our guild members are present right now. Some of them are gone on jobs. But there's Romeo, he's Macao's son. There are also members like Reedus, Alzack and Bisca, Laki, Max, Nab, Warren, Levy." Erza started listing off names as if they were people that Raven should recognize.

"Ah, Erza," Raven interjected as soon as Erza paused. "I don't know any of those names, and I won't learn them if I don't have a face to go with them. I'm sure I will meet everyone eventually." Raven gave a small smile. "Thanks though." She added quickly in order to avoid offending Erza who had seemed to be particularly volatile today.

"Right, of course, well." Erza stiffened awkwardly as if she didn't know what to do. Abruptly she turned and walked away.

"Okay then…" Raven stared after her for a moment before shrugging. She looked around, unsure of what she should be doing. Now that most of the commotion seemed to have passed most people were back to chatting and mingling. Gray and Natsu were lingering by a large bulletin board labeled: REQUEST BOARD. She shrugged and walked over.

"This is a creepy looking job request." Natsu pointed out.

"What's 'this'?" Raven asked from behind them as she approached.

"This is the request board. " Natsu beamed at her. "People from all over Fiore post jobs they want guild wizards to complete and then we can take the listing off the board and go do them."

Raven stared at him for a moment. "I know what a request board is Natsu, I can read. I meant the job request you and Gray were looking at."

"Gez, you moron." Gray scoffed at him.

"Ah, shut up man!" Natsu glared back. "Before I make you!"

"Like you could dragon breath!" Gray retorted. It just took the one comment and sparks were flying again.

"That sounds like bickering!" Erza called from across the hall.

"No ma'am!" They both straightened up immediately, though the glares remained. Raven sighed.

"You guys are hopeless aren't you?"

"You guys are back, what's up?" A voice from behind them asked.

"Not much man," Natsu replied without even looking at the person. Raven glanced over her shoulder and instantly blushed, seeing a familiar face. _You've got to be kidding me_.

As soon as their eyes met he got that signature cocky smirk he had worn the entire time they had been together several days before. "Oh, hey Princess."

Raven's face turned a deeper shade of red when he called her princess. "Hey Loke," she whispered without looking back him. She was trying to will the blush off her cheeks before truly greeting him.

Gray picked up on her reaction instantly. "You know Loke?" His reaction seemed almost suspicious to Raven. He glancing between her and Loke.

"Yeah, we went on a date last time she was in town." Loke shrugged, his smirk growing even larger at the sight of Raven's blush. "Hey, I guess this means you owe me a second date now, huh?"

"We did _not_ go on a date." She insisted, looking up at Gray. "He just showed me a place to eat in town last time I was here." Raven glared at Loke but the blush still on her cheeks made her far less threatening than she would have liked. Loke chuckled at her. Raven bit her lip.

"I can't even read it." Natsu mumbled, interrupting their banter.

"Read what?" Lucy asked. Raven hadn't realized that Lucy had wandered over.

"'Whoa! You're back too Lucy?" Loke seemed unusually surprised to see her, almost panicked.

"Well, nice to see you too." Lucy was clearly offended by his panicked greeting. "What is your problem with me?" She questioned him aggressively, leaning closer.

"I-ah-nothing!" He shook his hands and started backing away. He turned in a desperate attempt to run but instead crashed face first into Erza. _What is his problem?_ Raven arched an eyebrow at the boy that was now sprawled on the floor.

"No way!" Erza yelled at them, completely ignoring Loke. "You will _not_ be taking any requests." Erza frowned at Gray and Natsu, who were now both leaning over the creepy looking paper.

"Real smooth, Loke." Lucy sighed, leaning down to make sure he was okay.

"Do they have to be so loud?" Cana complained from a couple tables over. Raven noticed that she was sitting with two other guild members that had not been formally introduced, a small boy and a larger man with a sketch pad.

"Who cares? They are like, the coolest!" The boy grinned, watching Natsu and Gray.

"You're kidding me, right?" Cana looked skeptically at the child. _I think I'm going to like her._ Raven grinned. Her tone had made the statement sound more entertaining than it actually was. "They are ruining my quality drinking time."

"They can't ruin anything." The boy scooted closer to the edge of his seat in excitement. _He must really look up to them. That's sweet._

"Kinda their thing." Cana shrugged before taking a drink from her mug. Raven actually laughed aloud at her joke though no one else seemed to notice it.

"Decipher this text and I'll see that you'll, increase your wealth by five hundred thousand jewel." Natsu read aloud from the page. "This one sounds like a winner to me! What do you think?" He looked at Happy.

"Sure does!" Happy agreed with his usual enthusiasm.

"So it's a translation job? That's a weird request for a guild." Gray was leaning over the paper with furrowed brows.

'Wait, that's some kind of ancient stuff." Gray said, straightening up from the page. "No one is going to be able to read that." He frowned.

"Can I see it?" Raven reached out for the paper. Natsu shrugged and slid it across the table to her. She bit her lip, thinking. "It's been a long time since I've read anything in an ancient script." She strained to remember the letters from her time with Kayerith.

"You can read ancient script?" Gray gave her a strange look.

"I learned a long time ago from my foster mother." Raven said without thinking. She froze, looking at Gray to see if he caught her mistake. It appeared that he was appeased with her answer and Raven gave a sigh of relief. _He probably thinks I meant Grandma Saya. That's okay, he can think that._

"There's a modern translation too!" Raven said suddenly, noticing the small font. She was just about to read the words when Erza interrupted her.

"I thought I told you no jobs!" She scolded. Raven dropped the page back onto the table, unwilling to be the one to disobey Erza.

"I can read the modern text!" Natsu ignored Erza and snatched the paper off the table. "Let's see here… Ugo deru resuchi boro kania. What the- that's crazy! It doesn't mean anything." Natsu shouted, throwing the paper in disappointment. Suddenly lights began to glow around them all.

"What's going on?" Macao asked from across the room.

"That's so sad, those kids are so scared of the Master's punishment they are actually sweating rainbows." Wakaba sighed as if that made perfect sense.

Macao gave him a confused and skeptical look, "no more booze for you."

"I don't remember lying on the floor." Raven sat up and rubbed her head.

"It's so cold!" Gray suddenly burst out followed by shivering.

"What?" Raven looked at him, dumbstruck. _Ice wizards don't get cold._ She pulled herself to her feet using the table.

"Ice wizards don't get cold you big, cry baby!" Elfman yelled at him.

"You've given voice to my thoughts." Raven frowned. _Why does my voice sound weird?_

"I'm serious guys. Will someone turn up the heat before I freeze to death in here, pretty please?" He clutched his arms, still shivering. Everyone, especially Raven, stared at him with a strange look.

"I thought I was the one on the floor." A voice said. Raven looked over and saw an exact look alike staring back at her. They both shrieked. "What the hell is going on?" She demanded to know.

"What the- what's going on? My chest feels really weird all of the sudden, like it's heavy." Lucy burst out. "And my back is killin' me." She leaned over the table.

"Are you feeling alright Lucy?" Macao asked her.

"What are you talking about, I'm fine, just co-" Gray's voice was cut short with a screech as he saw Lucy.

"Why does my head feel all weird?" Cana slurred, stumbling towards the table they were gathered around. "Seriously guys, I don't feel so good. It's kinda like I'm motion sick but we aren't supposed to be moving." Realization dawned on her face. "Guys! When did the guild hall start moving?" She asked as she slumped down onto the table.

"You don't feel good? I feel like someone poured a bucket of lava down my throat! I need another drink." Natsu wandered over to the bar.

The Raven look alike suddenly realized she was standing near Lucy. She gawked for a moment before screaming and taking off. "What the _hell _is going on?" The real Raven asked, her mind racing. She looked down at her hands and glasses fell off her face. _I don't wear glasses-no. No, it can't possibly…_ Raven felt her hair again, it was short. Her hands held a masculine look. She was wearing a green jacket. "Loke, I don't know what you did but you bring my body back right _now!_" Raven screamed after him. "Loke! Get back here!" but he was already gone with her body.

"Why is everyone behaving so foolishly?" Happy was standing on the table, hands on hips.

"Oh wow, Natsu! Check it out!" Erza yelled. "I could be wrong but I really don't think I've always had these, have I?" Erza was squeezing her own chest with a grin. Every male in the room paying attention to what was going on started blushing.

"How _dare_ you!" Happy shrieked in horror. He launched off the table with a kick and crashed into Erza's armor.

"Hey! I got cool armor too." Erza grinned even wider. _So it wasn't just Loke and I. It was everyone… everyone near that paper!_

"I don't understand what's happened to me. I've never felt so tiny and weak before. It's like I've somehow requiped into a… cat." Happy's voice was dark. _Erza just figured it out too._ Raven realized.

"Why am I lying on the table?" Natsu asked, looking at the body of Cana now drooling on the table. "What is going on?" _So Natsu and Cana switched. _Cana seemed the most calm out of everyone. She took a swig from the glass she had retrieved from the bar.

"Okay, I'm starting to get really freaked out. First I'm freezing, and then there's some sort of creepy look alike of me." Gray was starting to panic. _No, Lucy, _Raven corrected herself. _Is she really so dense that she hasn't figured it out?_

"What are you talking about?" Lucy shrugged.

"How could you be such idiots? Don't you realize what's happened to us?" Erza yelled angrily from Happy's body. "We've all switched bodies." Her eyes were wide with horror.

Raven and Cana seemed unsurprised by the revelation. Natsu, in Cana's body was too drunk to realize what was going on.

"Stop fooling around Happy." The real Gray yelled at him.

"I'm Erza you dimwit!" Happy yelled back.

"You mean?" Lucy asked_. _

"Yes, Natsu and Cana, Gray and Lucy, Raven and Loke, and worst of all, Happy and I. We have all switched bodies!"

"Why is switching with me the worst of all?" Happy/Erza demanded to know.

"The ancient Unpela-ese spell has been cast." A voice said from the doorway of the guild hall. "You kids aren't feeling like yourself today, huh?" Master Makarov chuckled lightly at his own joke.

"Master, you're back!"Erza/Happy ran to meet him.

"I noticed that request on the board. By reading what was written on that page aloud you've cast a powerful spell of personality transfers and that spell is called the Changeling." Makarov explained.

"That sounds scary!" The real Lucy cried. If the situation hadn't been so personal Raven would have found it really entertaining.

"So, you are really Natsu, right?" Gray/Lucy asked Cana, who was leaning on an elbow with a dreamy smile.

"Yeah, I'm Natsu." Natsu/Cana giggled.

"You idiot! What did you _do_ to us?" Gray/Lucy began shaking Cana's shoulders.

"No! Don't do that." Cana's skin gained a slightly green tinge.

"I would stop shaking her, him, her?" Raven suggested, unsure of how to refer to Natsu while he was in Cana's body.

"All I did was try to read the stupid job request." Natsu/Cana slurred back once Gray had stopped shaking her. She slumped back onto the table.

"That's enough Lucy, ah Gray" Makarov said. "For wizards this switches more than just your bodies, it switches magic as well."

"What!" Raven gasped. _This is really bad. If he figures out I'm a dragon slayer… then… well, I don't really know._ Suddenly Raven realized she didn't know why she was keeping her dragon slayer magic secret, other than she had always been secretive. _Old habits die hard I guess. I don't want to stand out either. I don't want to draw _his_ attention._

"There's one thing you should know, if the Changeling spell is not undone within thirty minutes from the time when it was initially cast you will never return to the way you were before." Makarov's voice was surprisingly serious. "Or, so says the legend at least." With that he shrugged and walked past them into the guild hall.

"Do you know how many minutes we've been mixed up for?" Cana/Natsu ran to Mirajane and Elfman.

"Sixteen, so you have fourteen left." Mirajane said, just as serious as Makarov.

"Gramps, isn't there a way to lift the spell and change us back?" Gray/Lucy asked running after Master Makarov.

"Since this is such an ancient magic, it would only stand to reason that I, don't know." Everyone's face was a mix of crushing disappointment and horror. "I must say, I'm disappointed. I was so looking forward to punishing you, but, it looks like you've got your hands full for now." He shrugged and kept walking. "Best of luck to you kids." He called over his shoulder.

"Alright! That does it! I can't take this anymore!" Gray/Lucy screamed and grabbed the hem of the shirt Lucy was wearing. _He can't be_… Just as he started to pull the shirt up the real Lucy pounced on him.

"Get a hold of yourself!" She was screaming at him.

"Let go!" Gray whined.

"Wait, Raven, you can read ancient text! Maybe you can undo it!" Gray/Lucy suddenly realized and stopped pulling on the shirt.

"Who me?" She pointed to herself. "No way, I can barely read it! I don't know the first thing about script magic." Raven shook her head.

"So, even though Gray is in Lucy's body he still likes to take off his clothes." Happy/Erza observed. "Then that means-"

"-that means what?" The real Erza cut him off. Her voice was filled with dread and when she saw the look on Happy/Erza's face she knew exactly what he was planning. "Happy, no!"

"This will be awesome!" Happy/Erza grinned. "Okay, here I go! Requip!" Erza's body lit up with the glow of magic and then suddenly she was standing there in a swimsuit with a fishing pole.

"Wow! Erza looks smokin' hot," Macao, Wakaba, and Elfman all yelled together.

"How dare you!" Erza/Happy leapt up to try to punch the real Happy but failed miserably. "No, this can't be. I was an S-class wizard and now I'm so weak." Erza began sulking on the floor.

"Man, I was trying to change into one of those cool suits of armor." Happy frowned.

"So, we switched our magic with each other but everyone totally sucks at it." The real Gray observed.

"Hey, Loke, or ah… whoever's inside him." Raven turned to Wakaba.

"Umm… I'm actually Raven." She said lightly, scratching the back of Loke's head.

"Have you figured out what kind of magic he uses?" Wakaba asked.

"Yeah, come on! Be a man and show us." Elfman agreed.

"I'm a girl…" Raven sighed, embarrassed. "But, I don't know." She realized suddenly. "I don't feel anything magic-wise. Everything just kinda feels… weird." She looked at Loke's hands and again the glasses began sliding off her face.

"Hey! Guys! You gotta help me!" Loke came running back into the guild hall. Chunks of ice were falling out of Raven's mouth.

"There you are! What the hell are you doing?" Raven screeched at him. "You can't just start drooling everywhere. Close your mouth and stop embarrassing me!" Raven was sure Loke's cheeks were red.

"I'm sorry, I can't help it!" He yelled back. "I tried to hit on some girls and I just started drooling ice everywhere."

"You were hitting on some girls at a time like this? You were hitting on some girls? Great! Now everyone in town is going to think I'm a lesbian or something, thanks Loke, thanks a lot." Raven glared at him. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she was over reacting but she couldn't help herself.

Suddenly Loke was completely composed and Raven was looking at a flirtatious smirk on her own face. "You could convince them otherwise by going on another date with me." He winked at her. _How does he do that? He makes even me look good. _

"Give my body back right now!" Raven shouted at him.

"Come on, just one more date." Loke/Raven taunted her. Raven leapt at him but, not being used to the size increase of being in Loke's body, she stumbled and fell. Meanwhile, Loke was on the table in her body. "Well, I guess if you won't go out with me I have to take what I can get now while I'm in your body." He grinned.

"Don't' you dare!" Raven scrambled up from the floor. "Stop touching there you weirdo!"

"I must say, flying is way more fun than I thought it would be." Erza/Happy sighed. "What am I saying! I shouldn't be wasting my time with this. I need to be changed back at once."

"What are we going to do?" Lucy/Gray sighed dramatically. Suddenly frozen cubes began falling from his mouth too.

"Hey, Gray, or um, Lucy, you're dropping ice hun." Mirajane pointed out in the most sensitive voice she could.

"Not me too!" She mumbled into his hands. "I hate this, why me?" She sighed even more dramatically than before.

"No need to worry Lucy!" A voice from the doorway shouted. Raven stopped trying to kill Loke, who was proving to be more agile than her, and glanced at the door. There a girl about Raven's age with blue hair stood. Two boys were standing behind her.

"Levy! It's you!" Lucy got up and ran to her happily.

"Levy?" Raven tilted her head. The name sounded familiar for some reason.

"The Shadow Gear team is here to save the day!" One of the boys shouted. "You guys will be back to normal in no time."

"Oh yeah, we got this. No sweat. Now, do your thing Levy." The other said.

"You're so sweet to help us!" Lucy/Gray smiled hopefully.

"Anything for my girl! Besides, I want to read your novel and it would be weird talking about it with Gray." She whispered. It was funny to see Gray blush, even if it was really Lucy.

"It's Levy." Natsu/Cana sat up off the table and announced this loudly. "What are you gonna do Levy? Can you help me? I don't-" she hiccupped. "-feel so great."

"Well, I do know a thing or two about ancient texts. I'll start by taking a look at what was written on the flier itself." Levy explained, sitting at the table. _Levy, Erza mentioned a Levy!_ She realized why the name sounded familiar.

"Sounds good, but do it quick." Gray/Lucy said, looking over her shoulder.

"Give her some space to think, ice breath." The real Cana snapped at him.

"Listen up everyone!" Erza/Happy jumped onto the table with a fish in his mouth. "We need to let Levy work in peace." Suddenly Erza realized she was holding a fish in Happy's mouth and she spat it out. "Why did I have a fish in my mouth?" She sighed dejectedly

"Cause they're yummy." The real Happy pointed out.

The page in front of Levy started to glow and characters began flying ridiculously fast. _She's a script wizard. _Raven realized. _Hopefully she can help._ Raven was somewhat jealous of Levy's ability to use script magic. She had always liked the idea of it.

"Please hurry, there's only ten minutes left." Cana/Natsu said. She was trying hard to avoid drooling fire like Lucy had been drooling ice from Gray's mouth and Loke had drooled ice from Raven's.

"I can't take it. The room won't stop moving, even when I close my eyes. Change me back." Natsu moaned in Cana's voice.

"Come on, it's not so bad." Happy chirped. "One more time! Requ-"

"You'll loss a life cat!" Erza snarled, somehow managing to be menacing even in the adorable form of Happy.

"How's it going Levy?" Lucy/Gray asked.

"Have you figured it out?" Gray/Lucy asked in a much more panicked tone.

"No, I'm stumped." Levy sighed and pushed her glasses up.

"I never thought my fate would be to live out my days as some strange flying cat." Erza/Happy floated past with tears in his eyes.

"What's so terrible about that, huh?" Happy demanded to know.

"No! What do you mean you are stumped?" Gray screamed in Lucy's voice. He started taking off her shirt again. Every male in the room stared expectantly. This time Raven, in Loke's body was the one to reach him first and slam her arms down.

"Keep her shirt on Gray!" Raven yelled at him.

"I feel so funky." Cana/Natsu wiggled in Natsu's body.

"The girls are never going to talk to me now." Loke sighed in disappointment.

"What do you mean they'll never talk to you? Are you calling me ugly?" Raven wheeled on him.

"What? I'm so confused! Just a minute ago you were mad that I was hitting on them because you didn't want people to think you were a lesbian and now you are mad because I won't be with them? Make up your mind woman!" Loke threw his arms up in defeat.

"I know you guys are freaking out but I'm still working on it, okay." Levy announced.

"How much time do we have?" Raven asked Macao and Elfman.

"About eight minutes. I hate to say it but you might start preparing for the worst." Macao said sadly.

"I don't think being in this smoking hot body is such a bad thing." Loke stood and smacked her own butt.

"Ah! Stop that!" Raven felt the blush creeping up her cheeks again. "Just a second ago you were complaining about it."

"Calm down princess." He slumped onto a bench. "We are probably going to get stuck like this anyway. But, if not then you wouldn't want your secret leaked." Raven recognized the sly, knowing look in her own eyes. _No, he couldn't be talking about my magic. There's no way he figured it out. But, if he did… He wouldn't dare tell. What if he read Kayerith's letter? I don't know what that would tell him, but if he somehow _did_ figure it out. _Raven glared at him and slumped down next to him.

"So, what happens if we end up getting stuck like this?" Gray/Lucy asked, slumping down on the bench too.

"What do you mean by that?" Natsu/Cana was sitting up, though barely, again.

"Are we just going to try to adjust to our new bodies and go back to work?" Gray/Lucy looked up at her.

"Well, yea, I guess we'd have to. It's not like we have a whole lot of options." The real Cana added.

"How can you be so calm about this?" Raven asked her. Cana made Natsu's shoulders shrug.

"Whatever happens is totally fine with me." Happy/Erza grinned. "If I stay quiet everyone will be nice to me because I'm scary now." She sat down across the table from them all.

"Well no one asked your opinion did they?" Lucy/Gray yelled at Happy. "Stupid cat! I just want to be a cute girl again." Lucy sighed heavily and Gray started drooling ice again.

"Are those frozen chunks of drool?" Natsu/Cana asked with heavy eyelids. She wrinkled her nose. "That's so gross man!" She slurred.

"I'm not a man! And I know it's gross, do you think I'm doing this on purpose?" Lucy yelled defensively. Suddenly Lucy/Gray straightened up. "I just realized something." She whispered quietly. "If we get stuck like this forever none of us have a clue how to use out magic anymore. Even if we did take a job, we'd never be able to finish it." She pointed out.

"Awe, geez, you are right." Cana/Natsu agreed.

"We stink." The real Gray pointed out as if it was something that no one else knew.

_At least they have magic._ Raven frowned and looked down at Loke's hands. She still couldn't feel anything magical in his body. It just felt… different.

"But, that means-" Erza started.

"We are the weakest team in Fairytail now!" They all shouted together in distress. Suddenly everyone was up off the bench, trying to discover how to use the magic they were now stuck with.

"Let's do this Happy!" Natsu slurred.

"Aye sir!" Happy/Erza jumped up from the bench even though Natsu/Cana was still slumped over.

"Ice-make something or another." Lucy yelled trying to mimic Gray's motions. Raven slapped a hand against her forehead. _That's embarrassing! _

"That's not how you use Ice-make. Why couldn't Gray and I have switched? We'd at least be somewhat useful!" Raven sighed almost wistfully.

"Uh, hold on, stupid keys!" Gray had joined the fray and was fumbling with Lucy's celestial key ring. "I agreed with Raven, this would have been so much easier if she and I have switched.

"I don't know, you might have been surprised if you had." Loke/Raven arched an eyebrow at Raven. She glared back at him but was almost afraid to provoke him without knowing exactly what he had figured out.

"Shut up." She mumbled. "Or I'll do something like go get a flower tattoo or a pony tattoo on your body Mr. No Magic." She growled.

"I have magic, you just can't figure out how to use it." He retorted completely unfazed by her threat.

"I'll have to rebuild all my alcohol tolerance if I stay in this body!" Cana/Natsu realized with a cry.

"What in the hell is the point in living if I can't even burn stuff anymore." The real Natsu growled in frustration, though he still hadn't managed to get up off the bench yet.

"I am an S-class wizard and I refuse to be a part of the weakest team in the entire guild!" Erza started screaming loudly right alongside Natsu. "If only I wasn't trapped in this form…" She babbled wistfully.

"You're mean! I don't understand why you are complaining so much, I liked being a cat." Happy announced. Happy, in Erza's body, then leapt dramatically into the air and immediately came crashing to the ground right on top of Erza/Happy

"Just what were you trying to do there Erza, er, uh, I mean Happy?" Macao asked.

"Ever since we switched she's been sayin' mean stuff." Happy/Erza cried. "So I got mad and tried to fly away but I couldn't fly away because I don't have my wings anymore." Happy sounded as if he might actually cry.

"Yes! That's it!" Levy burst out.

"Really? You can lift the spell?" Cana came running back to the table Levy was working at.

"Come on, do it!" Gray/Lucy shouted at her.

"This is what it says, 'May this eternal exchange provide you with eternal happiness.' Kinda cute, isn't it?" Levy smiled at them.

Raven arched a skeptical eyebrow. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Awe, yeah, it is." Lucy/Gray sighed in the same moment.

"May this eternal exchange provide you with eternal happiness, huh." Cana repeated pensively.

"In other words, whoever was switched by this spell will live happily ever after. You are _so_ lucky. I'm so glad I figured it out!" Levy gave them all another grin.

"I don't want to live happily ever after if it means I have to do it in Loke's body. Nor him in mine!" She added on the end as she noticed messing with her necklace idly.

"Oh, yeah, wow, who are you?" Levy looked between Raven and Loke.

"We can explain that later! Right now we need to be switched back Levy!" Lucy/Gray shouted at her for the first time.

"We wanted you to _lift_ the spell, not read it!" Cana/Natsu added.

"Oh, right, I'm so sorry!" Levy frowned.

"You've got this. I have faith that you can do it, you just need to work a little faster, okay? Maybe there's some kind of code or hidden message in the words, something like that." Lucy/Gray stopped shouting and walked around the table to give Levy an encouraging pat on the back.

"Only three minutes left." Macao announced.

"Three minutes?" They all shouted together.

"Well, this is it." Erza sighed. "For the rest of my life, fish for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I've worked so hard and now I'm going to spend my days chasing mice and little pieces of string." Erza cried, sprouted wings, and flew off.

"Come back here Happy, I mean Erza!" Cana/Natsu yelled after her.

"Sorry I got upset, I know this is hard on both of us." Happy/Erza approached her, reaching out.

"Really? You do?" The real Erza turned towards him with glistening eyes.

"Now isn't the time for us to be arguing like this. Will you please forgive me?" Happy asked.

"Yes, of course, I hope you'll forgive me too." Erza smiled at him.

"Aye! Here's something to make you feel better." The real happy held out a fish to the cat, which instantly began crying.

"Could you be anymore clueless?" Lucy yelled at Happy.

Ignoring them, Natsu's attention was on Levy, "have you figured it out yet?" He asked with heavy slurs.

"The situation is dire with just one minute to go!" Macao called to the crowd like a commenter.

"I don't recall asking you the time so shut your trap, kay?" Natsu stood quickly and shouted at Macao. Then immediately sat back down, clutching Cana's stomach. "Standing bad…" he mumbled and put his head back down.

"Geez… I was just trying to help." Macao slunk away from them.

"Still trying to break the spell are you?" Master Makarov had reappeared in the guild hall's main room.

"If you are trying to teach us a lesson here, we've learned it okay!" Gray/Lucy was shouting at the Master now instead of Levy.

"Oh!" Master Makarov said loudly as if he had come up with an idea.

"Yes Master?" Erza/Happy responded immediately.

"Nope, never mind, I'm drawing a blank." He shrugged at them. There was a collective sigh as their hopes faded.

"Ah! We aren't going to make it!" Gray tried once more to remove Lucy's shirt.

"Taking off my shirt isn't going to change anything Gray!" Lucy leapt on him and with the superior strength of Gray's body was able to fight Lucy's arms down.

"He's so weird." Raven sighed.

"Let go of me!" Gray, in Lucy's body roared.

"You guys have about 40 seconds left more or less, starting… now!" Macao announced again.

"What do you mean more or less?" Loke shouted at him.

"I just remembered something about the spell. While it can be lifted, it must be done one pair at a time." Makarov announced.

They all looked at each other in silence. "So… who get's to go first?" Raven asked them quietly. Instantly arguments broke out about which pair should get the curse lifted first.

"Hold on guys! I got it!" Levy shouted. "I'll try to explain this to you really quick."

"There's no time! Just change us back! Hurry!" Both Cana and Gray were shouting.

"Okay!" Levy shouted some strange words and lights began spiraling around everyone. Raven closed her eyes and hoped for the best. When the lights settled there was a collective sigh, not just from the people that had been switched but from the entire guild hall.

"Hey! I'm back to normal guys!" Lucy bounced around and felt her hair.

"Me too!" Raven grinned, instantly she checked her pocket for Kayerith's letter and for her necklace. Both were still safe and sound.

"Me three." Gray smiled. "Man that was close." Gray started drooling ice cubes again.

"So, now you are drooling ice cubes on purpose?" Wakaba asked him. Gray looked horrified at his mistake and slammed his mouth closed.

"It feels good to be back." Loke smirked and pushed his glassed up on his face.

"You're awesome Levy!" Lucy yelled and ran to hug to small young woman. "You've got to tell us, how'd you do it?" Lucy asked.

"Well, when I discovered the words themselves have no meaning I decided to read them backwards." She explained. "It's actually an old trick. Ancient languages like this didn't have that many letters so sometimes they had to be a little bit more creative with how they used their words. That's why when I reversed the words it reversed the spell too." Levy said.

"How cool, I never would have thought of that." Lucy smiled.

"We owe you big time Levy." Gray said.

"Definitely," Raven agreed.

"I'm still in the wrong body!" Cana and Natsu both cried together.

"What?" Levy sounded horrified.

"Me too, I'm still a stupid cat." Erza/Happy was shaking, though Raven couldn't tell if it was in anger or disappointment.

"Wow, you mean I get to stay like this?" Happy/Erza spun in a circle, clearly more than okay with this development.

"Well, that does it for time; you did get two pairs switched back so I guess that's something to be proud of." Macao said.

"Come on, this has got to be some sort of mix up, come on Levy, there's got to be something else you can try." Cana frowned.

"Sorry, maybe I didn't pronounce it right." She whispered, bracing herself against the inevitable attack.

"So that's it? We are stuck like this forever?" Natsu sat up off the table. "I don't wanna be like this forever." He slumped back over.

"You know, Natsu is a lot more subdued in Cana's body. This might be for the best. He can't break things like this." Lucy shrugged, weighing the trade-offs of the situation.

"That's easy for you to say! I can't spend the rest of my life as some pink haired, fire drooling, freak of nature!" Cana was offended at Lucy suggestion and clearly just as upset as everyone else now.

"Wake up Erza, this is all some horrible nightmare and you need to wake up." Erza/Happy sunk to the floor.

"Now, now, don't lose heart. There's got to be another way." Mirajane was sitting cross legged on the counter top.

"Hey guys, something's not right. Did I get shorter?" Makarov was looking up at everyone, clearly panicked. _Oh no_…

"Don't tell me that Mirajane switched bodies with Gramps!" Gray was incredulous.

"Won't hear me complaining about this." Makarov/Mira grinned.

"This can't be happening!" Mirajane/Makarov spun in circles in a panic.

"Who else?" Erza asked darkly from her spot on the floor.

It took the guild several more hours to get everyone sorted out and completely back to normal. The afternoon was filled with just as many laughs as it was tears. Levy used a lot of magic to reverse the effects of all the spells and was exhausted by the time the job was through but it was thanks to her that everything was under control again.

Once it was, Erza found Raven sitting on a bench with Gray, Lucy, Cana, and Natsu. Loke had fled as soon as he could in order to escape Lucy. "I'm sorry about that. I suppose it wasn't the best possible introduction to being a part of our guild." She apologized.

"Uh, I mean, I guess it could have been worse. I got _way_ too familiar with Loke but all in all it wasn't so bad. I can tell you guys are a little crazy but hey, maybe I need a little more crazy in my life."

"You don't have to lie," Erza laughed. "Although, if you are still interested in joining you can meet Master Makarov and receive your guild stamp from Mirajane." Erza's expression told Raven that she was hopeful that the chaos from that afternoon hadn't deterred Raven.

Raven smiled. "Yeah, I think I'd like that." Erza directed her over to where to small Master Makarov was seated cross legged on the counter top.

"Master Makarov, this is our newest guild recruit. Her name is Raven and she wants to join Fairytail." Erza introduced them.

"Hello Master Makarov, it's a pleasure to meet you." Raven nodded to him politely.

"I believe we have met before, perhaps not formally though." Raven panicked internally. _So he does remember. He knew it was me. At least he doesn't seem mad._ She bit her lip. "It's nice to officially meet you Raven. I'm sure you'll fit in just fine with the rest of Fairytail." He beamed at her. Erza gave them a curious look but didn't press the matter.

"Are you ready for your stamp now?" Erza asked.

"Yeah, I think I am." Raven nodded. _Despite everything that happened today, I'm still excited to be joining a guild; that they want me to join their guild_.

"Alright, were would you like your mark?" Mirajane asked her while preparing her stamp.

"Oh, I, uh, I hadn't thought about that." Raven realized she had no idea. She looked around the room, Lucy's was on her hand, Natsu's on his shoulder, even though Gray had a shirt on right now Raven knew his was on his chest, Erza's poked out from under her armor on her arm, Cana's was on her hip.

"Take your time deciding, it's an important choice." Mirajane smiled at her.

"What about… here?" Raven pointed to her upper arm, matching Erza's choice of stamp location. She bit her lip.

"You seem hesitant. Are you sure that's where you want it?" Mirajane asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Wait, no! I've got it!" Raven beamed at the realization. "I want it on my back, between my shoulders, it will look great between my ice wings." She smiled at Erza, who nodded approval, and Mirajane, who simply kept her near constant friendly smile.

"Of course, that seems like a great place then. You'll have to turn around." Raven turned and lifted her thick hair off her back so Mirajane could reach the spot. "So you want it here?" Mirajane pressed a finger between Raven's shoulders.

"A little higher," Mira adjusted her finger accordingly. "Yeah, there is perfect." Raven couldn't stop the smile on her face as she felt Mira pull down the back of her shirt and press it into her skin. There was a small popping sound.

"Oh! Your stamp is lavender. It's pretty. Well, there you go. You are officially a member of the Fairytail guild. The stamp will stay on your skin so long as you are a member."

Raven reached over her shoulder and touched the place where she knew the stamp was. _I did it Kayerith. _Raven touched the letter in her pocket. _I'm trying to live the life that you wanted me to have. But I promise, no matter what, I'm going to find you._ Raven felt an ache in her heart because Kayerith wasn't there to see her now. She smiled sadly at no one in particular and wandered back to the table where her new friends were seated.

"Well guys, I'm officially a member of Fairytail." She announced.

"That's great, where did you put your stamp?" Lucy asked with a smile.

"Yeah, let's see it." Gray added. Raven turned and pulled up her shirt to expose her back.

"I love the color, it suits you." Lucy smiled at her.

The group ate dinner in the guild hall that night to celebrate Raven's joining of the guild. Raven was finally introduced to many of the members in that hall that she hadn't met. There was Reedus, an artist that was also a wizard. He could bring his creations to life. Romeo, the little boy that was idolizing Natsu was Macao's son. She met Nab, who the other's teased for never taking a job. Bisca and Alzack who could use gun requip magic. And so many others that she knew it would take her a while to learn all their names.

Eventually the sun began to set and people began clearing out of the guild hall, a thought occurred to Raven then. "Uh, guys, where do people stay? I mean to sleep?" She asked aloud.

"There's a girl's dormitory behind the building but a lot of us just have a house or apartment somewhere in town." Cana explained.

"Oh, gotcha, I guess I can stay in the dormitory." Raven concluded.

"Don't be silly!" Lucy interjected. "You can come live with me, at the very least until you get your own apartment." Lucy grabbed Raven's arm and grinned. "It would be so nice to have another girl in the apartment. It's got a bedroom and a bathroom and even a little retro kitchen. Besides, splitting rent will be easier for both of us and if we move around some of the furniture I'm sure we could fit another bed in there comfortably!" Lucy seemed so excited at the idea of sharing an apartment with Raven that she didn't want to say no.

"Yeah, okay, that sounds great." Raven smiled at Lucy. She meant it from the bottom of her heart and she knew she wouldn't be able to communicate to Lucy how much the offer meant to her.

That night Raven left the guild hall with her pack on her shoulders like she had left so many other places before. But for the first time in seven years she was leaving to go to a place she could call home.


	15. Nightmares and Daydreams

**Quick Author's Note: Hey guys! First of all, I severely apologize for taking SO long to update. Thanksgiving was hard because my brother got really sick and was in the hospital for a while, and then school was crazy because it was the last week and then finals. I was also facing some serious writer's block and Christmas and man oh man, it's just been really busy! BUT my little brother is doing better now, my writer's block is gone, and the semester is officially over so here's the new chapter! Secondly, This chapter is sorta long, but not terrible. I left out some of the details that I wasn't sure if I should put in because I really wanted to get it posted since it had been so long. It was just little stuff but that means I'm not exactly sure how I feel about this chapter. I REALLY hope you guys like it though. Thirdly, I still have like 3 weeks before I have to be back at school for the new semester so that means (hopefully) a lot of time to write! I'm really excited about where the story is going so I hope you guys like it too! :) Long story short: I think this chapter is just okay, but I hope you guys like it because there will be more great chapters to come! ^_^ Consider actually posting again as a Christmas gift for you guys! As always, leave reviews and let me know what you think! I LOVE hearing from you guys. Hope you all have a wonderful holiday and stay tuned for more chapters! End Author's Note**

* * *

Raven snapped upright. She panted as she glanced frantically around the dark room. Sweat caused her loose shirt to cling to her back. _He isn't here. He can't be here. It was just a dream. _Despite the realization that she had only been dreaming it took her a few minutes to calm her rapidly beating heart.

She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped the blanket more tightly around herself as if the thin fabric offered some unseen protection. _It was only a dream. There's no way he's found me. I was too careful._ She squeezed her eyes closed. Her vision swam with images of him. Long blonde hair, red eyes, that terrible grin. She shivered. _At least not yet…_ She couldn't stop the thought from creeping into her mind. With a long, slow breath she opened her eyes again to escape his face.

There was only a meager sliver of light coming through the window over Lucy's bed. Raven estimated that it was nearly an hour before dawn but somehow she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep again. She shivered again despite her sweat.

She was sitting on the floor of Lucy's apartment, their apartment now; they had added her name to the lease only yesterday. Despite the fact that Raven had been staying with Lucy for several days now she still hadn't purchased a bed or really anything necessary for living. It was almost as if she was afraid to, like buying a bed somehow signified a type of commitment that Raven hadn't given to any one or any place in a long time. In her mind buying a bed made this place her home, and a home was something she hadn't had since Kayerith had left all those years ago.

She sighed again and buried her face in the blanket and her hands. _I thought I was done with the nightmares. I thought I was done._ It had been several years since this particular dream had plagued her sleep. She felt a fresh wave of chilling cold sweep through her. She felt his hands on her wrists. _Only I can control my thoughts._ She told herself, pulling the blanket tighter.

_Enough._ She took one last deep breath and rose to her feet in the dark room, allowing the blanket to fall to the floor. She was borrowing an old t-shirt and shorts from Lucy considering she didn't own any of her own. She suppressed another shiver. _A bath, I just need a bath._ She told herself as she crept as quietly as she could towards the bathroom.

She sunk up to her nose in the steaming water. She hadn't realized out tight her muscles had been until the water began to work its magic and help her relax. She rolled her neck from side to side slowly, stretching it out carefully.

Raven wasn't sure how much time had passed but when the water finally lost its heat she rose from the tube and wrapped herself carefully in a small, white cotton towel. _I really don't have anything for myself._ She frowned as she realized that even the towels she used were Lucy's. _I need to go shopping if I'm going to be staying here._

She crept back out into the main room of the apartment. Lucy was still fast asleep in her bed, the comforter pulled up to her chin. Raven smiled warmly at the girl before directing her attention to the window over Lucy's bed. The sun had managed to creep over the horizon, though just barely. She turned away from the window and located her pack, tucked carefully next to the desk. After a moment of trying to quietly rummage through it, she pulled out her clothes and shot another glance in Lucy's direction to make sure she hadn't awoken the other girl.

_Yeah, I really need to go shopping_. She thought as she pulled on a pair of loosely fitting black jeans, one of only two pairs of pants she owned. The pants sat comfortably on her hips but Raven wrapped a belt around them anyway. Quickly she pulled on a white and black stripped, form fitting, long sleeved shirt that cut off at her midriff. The sleeves here solid black but the main body was stripped with white. Previously this had been one of three shirts she had owned but one had been ruined on Galuna Island in order to treat Gray's wounds, leaving her with only two.

Carefully she took the necklace that Kayerith had given her and tucked it gently tucked it into the shirt. She never allowed the worn leather cord to leave her neck.

Feeling more comfortable now that she was clothed, she hung to towel up to dry in the bathroom and wandered back to the desk and the mirror that Lucy had hanging in her apartment. Big, lavender eyes surrounding by surprisingly long black lashes met her gaze, staring at her from a gently angled heart-shaped face. The corners of her delicately curved lips turned upwards as she examined herself in the mirror. Her hair was a complete disaster after having dried it with the towel. She picked up the brush she had left on the edge of the desk the night before and gently pulled it through the tangles.

Her hair was thick and long, falling nearly to her waist, and she knew it would be wet for several hours. Now that it was brushed it rested flat against her back, much in the same way it did when it was dry. It was black, dark as night, and provided a stark, almost ethereal contrast with her pale, creamy complexion.

She turned slowly in the mirror, examining her figure from behind. Her frame was slim and muscular but despite that she still managed to be curvy, similar to Lucy, though she was an inch or two shorter than the still sleeping blonde.

Again her eyes rested on the form of the sleeping girl in the mirror. Raven smiled kindly again, _thank you._ She thought, not for the first time, as she grabbed her book from her pack and headed to the big chair to read. The room was dimly lit by the light of the rising sun but Raven discovered that it was more than enough to read by.

She had been completely lost in her book when a pounding at the door pulled her out of that world and into the real one. She furrowed her brows, simultaneously irritated by the interruption at a crucial scene and curious about the would-be visitor. _Who would be here this early?_ Now that Raven's attention was away from the book she saw the sun had risen well over the horizon. She guessed it was nearing 8 in the morning.

She set her book done, careful to mark the page she was on, and went to the door. Natsu stood, grinning as usual on the other side of the door with a set of make-shift fishing poles over his shoulder. Happy drifted lazily behind him. "Morning Raven!" He grinned. "Is Lucy up?" Natsu glanced past her and into the house.

"Umm, I don't think so." Raven glanced behind her as well and then stepped aside, gesturing for them to enter the apartment.

"Lucy!" Natsu called out loudly. "Come on, wake up! It's time to go!" His ridiculous grin never left his face. Happy shrugged at Raven and floated in after him.

Raven, unsure of whether to chastise him for trying to wake her up or not just stood there in the door way for a moment. "I umm…" She started. "Okay then." She gave up when he started another bout of yelling. With a sigh she closed the door and followed them into the room.

"Where are you going?" Raven asked curiously.

"Come on Lucy! Get up." Natsu said, too preoccupied to hear her question.

"We are going fishing!" Happy offered instead. "You should come too." He suggested.

Raven glanced at Natsu, who was now shaking a groaning Lucy. "Uh, that's alright. I can stay here. I wouldn't want to intrude." She said sitting back down in the chair she had been reading in before. Lucy groaned again and rolled away from Natsu's voice.

"Alright fine, have it your way." Natsu crossed his arms over his chest.

"You wouldn't be intruding!" Happy assured. "You are part of the guild now. Besides, fishing is always the best!" As he spoke his eyes gained an almost dreamy quality.

Raven chuckled. "Really, it's okay. I've got a book I want to finish anyway." Raven picked up her book as if to emphasize to Happy.

Suddenly a shrill shriek filled the room. "Natsu!" Raven looked and couldn't help but laugh as Natsu stood a foot or two away from the bed holding the blanket Lucy had been using.

There we go! Now you are awake." He grinned even wider. Lucy got up and punched him. She ripped the blanket from his hands.

"Don't you have any manners?" She was still yelling at him. "What is wrong with you?" Natsu just kept grinning at her like an idiot.

"Happy and I are going fishing and we wanted you guys to come with." He shot a glance at Raven, who had pulled her feet up under herself in the chair. "It will be fun."

"So you woke me up to go fishing? I'm sorry Natsu but I have a novel to work on today." Lucy said matter-of-factly, crossing her arms over her chest defiantly.

"I think you should go." Raven interjected when she saw that subtle look of disappointment on Natsu's face. "It will be good to get out."

"And yesterday you said you had writer's block." Natsu added. "Come on Lucy, come with us? Pretty please?" Natsu looked at her with so much hope that Raven knew Lucy would be unable to refuse. She sighed heavily.

"Fine, I'll go with." She gave in.

"Wahoo!" Natsu shouted triumphantly.

"Let me get dressed first though." She said with a glare. Lucy quickly gathered some clothes and headed into the bathroom.

"Are you going to come too?" Natsu turned to Raven expectantly.

Raven shook her head. "No, I don't think so."

"Are you sure you don't want to go? It'll be super, awesome fun." Happy sang.

"Yeah, we even brought an extra pole in case you wanted to come too." Natsu shrugged the shoulder that the fishing poles were still leaning on.

Raven chuckled. "Yeah, I'm sure. I have some shopping to so anyway if I'm going to be staying here in Fairytail." She gestured to the blanket and pillow lying on the floor. "And I need some clothes and stuff considering that this is basically all I have."

"That makes sense I guess." Natsu said slowly.

"Suit yourself, but I don't think anything beats freshly caught fish." Happy was practically drooling at the thought.

Lucy emerged from the bathroom shortly after. "You ready to go now?" Natsu asked her impatiently.

"Yeah, I think I should be." Lucy did a quick scan of her apartment before turning to the door. "Wait!" She stopped suddenly. Rushing to the desk she grabbed some papers and a book and shoved them into a leather bag she swung over her shoulder. "Alright, now we can go." Lucy smiled and returned to Natsu's side at the door.

"Alright!" Natsu threw open the door and rushed outside.

"We'll see you later Raven." Lucy yelled over her shoulder with a wave as she followed Natsu.

"Sure thing." Raven said more quietly as she closed the door behind them. To Raven's surprise she got along quite well with Lucy. The other girl was kind-hearted and often gave Raven a reason to laugh. Sometimes she wondered if she teased Lucy too much but sometimes she just couldn't resist. It had been a long time since Raven had had a companion to live with and she was slowly discovering that she had also been missing a friend.

Raven didn't hesitate in returning to her book immediately. Curled up in the chair, alone in the room, Raven lost herself in the words on the pages. When she finally looked up from the book again nearly two hours had passed. "Man, I should _actually_ try to get something done today." She sighed, and even though it wasn't finished quite yet, she put her book down and rose from the chair to stretch.

"I guess it's officially time to move in," She announced to the empty room. A noise answered her unexpectedly. She startled until she realized that the noise was her own stomach gurgling at her in displeasure. "Right, food first, then shopping," she decided.

Raven left the apartment and headed towards the guild hall where she knew she would be able to grab a meal. She wasn't sure if it qualified as lunch or breakfast considering it was the first thing she was going to eat that day but it was also after 10 o'clock. When she entered the guild hall she wasn't surprised to find that most of the people she had become familiar with were already present. Cana and Gray were in a heated discussion with Erza, seemingly over a job flier. Macao and Wakaba were together as always. Elfman and Reedus had occupied another table along with several others. As the noise of chattered filled her ears she noticed Lucy sitting at a table by herself reading an old book.

"Hey," Raven said approaching her. "I thought you were fishing with Happy and Natsu?"

She looked up from the book. "Yeah, I was but then Happy got mad over something stupid and stormed off so then Natsu got mad at me and stormed off too." Lucy seemed confused and upset.

"Oh…" Raven shifted somewhat uncomfortably for a moment, unsure of how to handle Lucy's clear distress. "Hey, don't worry about it. I'm sure it will be fine!" Raven sat down next to her and tried to sound encouraging. "He probably just needs some time to blow off steam."

"Yeah, he's just never snapped at me like that." Lucy frowned, clearly not comforted by Raven's words.

"Well, it was probably just because he was upset with Happy." Raven speculated.

"Yeah, probably," Lucy still didn't sound convinced.

"Hey, I know! I was going to go shopping today for some actual clothes and maybe some furniture." Raven smiled at her. "Why don't you come with me? I'm always up for having a second opinion." Raven was only telling a half truth. She hated shopping, especially for clothes, but she had the suspicion that it was something Lucy would like and now that they were splitting rent Lucy might have some extra money to get something for herself as well. Just as she suspected, Lucy perked up at the idea.

"That sounds great!" Lucy grinned then suddenly frowned.

"What's the matter?" Raven questioned.

"Well, I kinda forgot I'm supposed to be helping Mirajane. I was going through this book looking for an old purchase record and I'm helping her organize the records in the archives. I can't exactly bail on something like that." She explained. Her voice was filled with obvious disappointment.

"Oh, I gotcha, that's okay. I promise I'll save some of my shopping so that you can go with me later. I can't put it all off though. I _really_ need to get some more clothes." Raven stressed with a smile. Lucy smiled back.

"That sounds great. And don't worry about it. I totally understand." Lucy actually seemed in a significantly better mood after their chat and Raven felt better. "I should probably get back to Mirajane though." She pushed away from the table and headed to a doorway in the back of the guild hall. "Oh, and Raven?" She called over her shoulder.

"Yeah?" Raven looked at her curiously.

"Thanks." She smiled. Raven grinned back.

As soon as Lucy was out of sit Raven rose from the table too. Unsure of what to do Raven looked around the guild hall again until she spotted Cana, Gray, and Erza. Their conversation seemed to have calmed down in the time that Raven was distracted. _I wonder if I should ask Cana or Erza to go with me_. She thought, watching them. Just as she had resolved to invite them she heard a voice from behind her. "Hey Princess, what are you up to today?" Loke was leaning against a support pillar not too far away, watching her. He must have showed up while she was distracted with Lucy.

"Why do you keep calling me that?" She glared at him. "I'm going shopping. I need some more clothes." Raven said completely straight faced. She still wasn't sure she had forgiven him for his behavior while in her body.

"Hmm… sounds interesting, mind if I tag along?" He asked casually, pushing up his glasses.

"Yes. I mind." Raven continued to glare.

"Oh come on, you can't stay mad at me forever." He smirked at her knowingly.

She sighed. "I mean, do you really want to go clothes shopping with me?" She arched a skeptical eyebrow at him. His response was a non-committal shrug.

"Why not, I've got a couple things I need to pick up anyway. Besides, I'd never pass up the chance to spend some time with Fairy Tail's finest lady." He gave her a wink that she was beginning to become incredibly familiar with.

Raven sighed in defeat. "Fine, I guess. I could use someone to carry my bags anyway." She returned his look with her own smirk.

"Then we best be off My Lady." He gave a subtle bow and she rolled her eyes, heading towards the guild hall doors. Loke fell into stride beside her and casually draped his arm around her shoulders.

She arched an eyebrow at him in a sideways glance. "What are you doing?" He chuckled noticeably as if what she had said was some inside joke. She gave him another strange look. It was only then that Raven caught the subtle peek over his shoulder. Following Loke's gaze she noticed Gray watching them leave the guild hall, a strange expression on his face.

"So, where to?" Loke asked once they were in the sunshine. Raven shrugged off his arm.

"I don't exactly know. I was actually hoping someone like Lucy or Mira would give me some good stores to shop at but they were busy. Something to do with the archives." She explained looking up and down the street before them. "I guess we just kinda wander until we find somewhere worth stopping at." She shrugged. Loke arched a questioning eyebrow at her before shrugging as well.

"Whatever makes you happy Princess. I have nothing else to do today."

"I think we should go this way." Raven pointed in a direction and started walking. "And seriously, why do you keep calling me that?" She asked with a slight edge in her voice. She still hadn't determined if his nickname bothered her.

"I don't know. It suites you in a strange sorta way I guess." He said, not really answering the question in the way she had wanted. She hadn't known what she was looking for in his answer though so she accepted with begrudgingly. The pair walked down the street together, an easy silence between them.

With closed eyes, Raven absorbed the sunlight on her face. The breeze was cool but the sun was warm. These were her favorite days. There was no tension with Loke beside her, no desire to find words to fill their silence, just ease. She peeked an eye open and shot him a glance only to discover that he was watching her intently with hazel eyes. An uncharacteristically serious expression ruled his features. She immediately turned away, a slight blush creeping up her cheeks. She was certain that he had noticed but he didn't say anything.

Slowly, as they walked, Raven began to relax again. She looked up from the concrete beneath them and began searching the names of the stores that they had begun to pass for anything that might be promising. Suddenly she stopped.

A window display had caught her attention. It was the most beautiful dress Raven had ever seen. The entire bodice was a delicate, rich, red lace with an open back. It was revealing but not scandalous, elegant yet sexy. The front was low cut, actually revealing much of the stomach. The skirt was simple, the same red as the lace, but instead silky in texture and reaching the floor. The only ornament on the skirt was a careful slit from hip to floor. She put her hands on the window as she stared.

"Find something you like?" Loke asked quietly. Raven's attention was snapped away from the dress. In her admiration she had nearly forgotten his presence.

"I-what?" She looked at him dumbly. He nodded to the dress in the window.

"You like the dress? You were practically drooling." He smiled at her and despite his words Raven got the impression from his tone that he wasn't truly mocking her.

"I mean, yes. It's gorgeous." Raven stole another glance at the dress. "But I could never pull off something like that. Besides, I couldn't afford it either." Loke's expression shifted and Raven couldn't quite tell what he was thinking. "Come on, I think we should keep walking." She said after a moment of silence. As they walked away she took one last look at the dress over her shoulder.

"You know, it's okay to like the dress. You can be a little girly sometimes." Loke observed.

"I don't know what you are talking about." Raven glared at him, her tone defensive.

"You do too." He replied without skipping a beat. "You have this tough girl persona and it's like you are afraid of what people will think if they find out that you actually have a gentle heart." He said without stopping.

Raven felt anger flare inside her. She knew the only reason she felt angry is because he was partially right. "You don't know what you are talking about." She scowled darkly, flashing back to the dream she had this morning. Loke seemed surprised by her intensity and let the conversation drop.

It was only a minute before Raven felt guilty for snapping at him but before she could apologize her stomach growled loudly. She immediately began blushing and wrapped her arms around her bare torsi. "Right, I completely forgot to eat while I was at the guild hall. Sorry about that." Loke, glad to see she wasn't still angry grinned at her.

"Come on, I know this great place!" He suddenly made a sharp turn down a side street.

"Uh, okay then." She started to follow him. "Wait a minute," She said without actually stopping. He glanced over his shoulder at her. "This isn't going to be like last time, is it?" She narrowed her eyes in mock suspicion.

"Hey, you liked the food last time." He retorted, playing along. "Come on, you are being too slow." He grabbed her hand and pulled her faster through the street. His hand was warm around hers and she found that she liked the sensation. She blushed again involuntarily but Loke was too focused on here they were going to notice much to Raven's relief. She looked up at his spiky orange hair and green jacket with a smile and when she looked back at his hands around hers, her heart jumped. _What is this? What is wrong with me? I'm being ridiculous. _

"Relax, would you." Loke said, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Huh?" She stared at him.

He shook her arm, not letting go of her hand. "Relax." He repeated with a gentle squeeze of his hand. She smiled reluctantly.

"Alright," She said with a nod, resolving to keep her thoughts away from less serious matters and choosing to focus instead on wherever he was leading her.

It didn't take long for his to pull up short just outside a small ice cream parlor. "You like ice cream, don't you?" He asked suddenly as if the thought that she might not had just occurred to him.

"What kind of a question is that? You aren't human if you don't like ice cream." Raven grinned at him.

His expression faltered in an odd manner. "Yeah, not human," he repeated in a forced voice. She gave him a strange look.

"You alright?" She asked with a tilt of the head.

"Ah, yeah. I'm fine. Let's go in." He said awkwardly as he pulled open the door and ushered her in.

A few minutes later they were both back out on the street clutching an ice cream cone. Across the street Raven found a low brick wall to sit on. She licked some of the dripping ice cream from the side of her cone. Despite her insistence, Loke had paid for the ice cream cones. She smiled as he sat next to her, one leg hanging off the edge and one flat on the bricks.

"Who would have thought we'd like the same ice cream." He smiled. It wasn't his usual smirk but rather a real smile.

"Mint chocolate chip is the best flavor." She said matter-of-factly. He laughed.

"Hey, you ah…" He pointed to her cone and she looked down to check for drips. When she didn't see any she turned back to Loke and immediately he finished with "-wanna try some of mine!" and smeared a streak of ice cream across her cheek. She shrieked in surprise at the sudden cold. Loke burst out into immediately laughter and after a moment Raven was laughing too.

"Jerk!" She shouted, trying, fruitlessly, to smear ice cream right back on his face. He managed to dodge or stop every one of her attempts. A lot of pouting, laughing, and several pseudo-angry glares later she took the last bite of her cone.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"For?" Loke watched her curiously.

"For everything… for making me laugh; and for the ice cream." She added.

He stood and smiled down at her, having finished his cone before she finished hers. She followed suit and prepared to leave when he stopped her. "You got some ice cream…" He said gently. He trailed off and instead of pointing to the location he licked his thumb and stepped towards her. A second later he was inches from Raven and gently rubbing his thumb across her cheek. She looked up him, blushing intensely at his proximity and touch. For a moment they just stood there, staring at each other in the middle of the street, inches apart, the warmth of his hand against her cheek.

"We should, umm, find a store." She whispered breathlessly.

"Yeah, I suppose we should." He replied, seemingly unfazed by what had just happened. He stepped away from her and it was only then that Raven realized she had been holding her breath.

_My gods what is wrong with me? _She took a deep breath to steady herself and shake the weird sensation that had overcome her. _I shouldn't let some stupid guy get me frazzled like that._ She scowled, angry with her own lack of self-control.

"Something wrong?" Loke asked after a minute and Raven realized he had been watching her again.

"Huh, oh, no." She lied. She hadn't realized her emotions were so expressive. With a forced smile she pushed her thoughts aside and re-resolved to keep her thoughts away from serious matters. "Let's go." She said noticing the warm sun and cool breeze again.

It wasn't long before she was truly smiling again. They had found a relatively large clothing store that Raven had deemed acceptable to look around in. She was in the middle of browsing a rack of pants when Loke called out to her. "Hey, Raven, what do you think about this?" She turned to see his arms spread wide. He had donned a very large top hat and a small burgundy, formal vest over his t-shirt. Raven couldn't stop the laughter.

"Oh, you look stunning sir." She mocked him suavely. He gave her a big lopsided grin and took the hat off, sweeping in front of him in a large bow.

"I, my Princess, am ever at your service." Raven continued to giggle at his antics until he removed the vest and hat after a particularly nasty glare from another costumer.

"Come on, I _actually_ need to find some clothes." She sighed with a smile still on her face and turned back to the rack of pants.

"I think you should try this on." Loke spoke up after a few minutes. When Raven turned back to him again he was holding up a small black skirt. She arched an eyebrow at him skeptically. "I'm being serious; I think it would look great on you. It even matches the shirt you are wearing now so you wouldn't have to buy another shirt if you didn't want to." He urged.

"I don't have shoes that I can wear with that." She said, making an excuse for why she couldn't try it on. "I doubt these combat boots are going to look even remotely acceptable with something like that and they are the only shoes I have." She explained to him.

Loke suddenly got a mischievous look on his face. "You know…" Raven regarded him carefully. "You could always buy more shoes too." He grabbed her hand much like he had earlier that day and began dragging her through the rows of clothing over to the meager shoe section towards the back. She pretended to dramatically throw a fit but didn't actually resist his touch.

"What about this?" Loke said dropping her hand and picking up a gorgeous red shoe with a 6 inch stiletto heel.

"You've got to be kidding me." She said, completely straight faced. "Those heels would kill me! Literally, I'd probably die falling off of them."

Loke chuckled and shrugged nonchalantly. "I was just thinking they'd make your legs and butt look good."

"Geez, you perv!" Raven said in mock anger and lightly punched Loke's arm. He grinned at her. It was then that Raven realized he hadn't flashed his aloof smirk since they had left the guild hall, but rather, he had truly been smiling with her. _And he says I'm the one with the persona. Who is mister calm, cool, and collected ladies' man trying to fool?_

"I don't really think I like any of these shoes." She said, biting her lip and scanning back over the racks. "But there was a couple other things that I wanted to try on."

"You are going to model all them for me, right?" Loke asked as they headed back to the changing rooms.

"I mean, if you want me too." She said, a slight blush creeping up her cheeks once more. She wasn't even sure why she was blushing. Loke smiled and nodded, finding a seat against the wall outside the changing room.

They spent the next two hours trying on clothes, laughing at ridiculous outfits, and, to Raven's surprise, having fun.

Eventually they left the store with multiple bags of clothes, including the first skirt Loke had suggested, in tow. He seemed oddly pleased that she had taken his suggestion to buy it. "We should find you some decent shoes to wear with these new outfits." Loke suggested as they emerged back into the afternoon light.

"Yeah, definitely. I think I saw a shoe store a few blocks that direction." She said pointing with her free hand. Despite the fact that she had been joking about having someone to carry her bags, Loke had quickly swept all but one of them off the counter at the store and was carrying them without complaint.

"I guess we head that way then." He smiled at her and began walking in the direction she had pointed. She followed suite.

Halfway there they passed one of Magnolia's many fountains. She glanced at the water in the fountain and then the back of Loke's jacket. Slowly a mischievous grin spread across her face. She set her bag down carefully and held up her hands. "Ice-make cubes," instantly her hands with small ice cubes. She ran up behind Loke, grabbed the back of his jacket and shirt, and dumped the ice down gleefully.

"Ah!" His shoulders immediately tensed and he wheeled. Raven was already darting back to the fountain in laughter. Dropping the bags and chasing after her he shouted, "you little…" She just continued to laugh.

Suddenly his hands were full of water from the fountain and it was soaring through the air towards her. She managed to dodge his onslaught. "Hey! That was just pay back for the ice cream earlier." She giggled as he threw more water and hit her this time.

She scooped up her own water in retaliation and dowsed him with it as he began to laugh. He slipped out of his jacket, throwing it back over near their bags. A moment later he was splashing more water at Raven, who shrieked as the cool water began to soak through her clothes. Loke's wet shirt began to stick to his chest as they splashed each other back and forth until both of them were completely soaked.

"If we don't find a show store soon they will all close." Raven pointed out.

"You are the one that started this!" Loke chuckled as he grabbed their bags.

"Are you cold?" He asked her, looking at his still dry jacket.

"Did you really just ask that?" She asked, giving him a sarcastic look.

"Right, ice wizard, I forgot." He nodded slowly. "Well, it would make me feel better. I don't want to look like the jerk not offering his jacket to the small, soaking wet girl." He said, out stretching his hand to her. With a smile she took his jacket and shrugged it on.

The fabric was still somehow warm. The smell of Loke's cologne filled her nose and she took a deep breath of the subtle fragrance. The sleeves went way past her finger tips and the jacket hung loosely on her body but still she wore it with thanks. "For you, I wouldn't want people to think you were some kind of jerk or something." She laughed as she scooped up her bag as well.

"Of course, it's all for my benefit." He said with a grin. Raven got the impression that Loke knew she liked that he had offered even though she didn't need the jacket to stay warm.

They walked side by side, closer than they had before, the rest of the way to the shoe store. They found the store Raven had been talking about with ease. The small overhead bell chimed as they walked in. "Oh welcome!" A middle aged woman called from the counter at the back of the store. "Is there anything I can help you with?" She asked politely.

"No, thank you." Raven smiled a polite greeting. "We are just looking."

"Your feet are so tiny." Loke teased as she tried on her third pair of shoes.

"They are not!" She said defensively. "Is that even an insult?" She questioned. Loke laughed at her as he held one of the shoes up to his much larger foot. He shook his head.

"What do you think?" She asked, turning up her foot.

"I think they are cute." He said seriously. "They suit you." Raven was wearing a pair of black and white flat bottomed sneakers. "Those with the boots and the other sneakers should have you covered."

"Yeah, I think so. I like these." She said, sliding her foot out of the shoes. Gently she placed them back in the box. "Alright, let's go check out so we can drop this stuff off back at my apartment before dinner." Loke nodded his agreement.

On the way to the checkout she paused. "What is it?" Loke asked, having nearly run into her.

"Nothing," She lied immediately.

"No, seriously, what is it?" He pressed.

"It's just… those shoes," She pointed to a pair of delicate sandals that wrapped up the leg. "I like them." She concluded. Loke grinned.

"Get them."

"I don't know. I have spent a lot of money today." She hesitated.

"If you don't get them I will." Loke threatened.

"You can't do that!" Raven wheeled on him.

"Then get them." He said calmly. She sighed.

"Okay, okay, I will." She scooped up the box in her size, not bothering to try them on. They checked out and left the store.

The two walked in silence once more but this silence wasn't nearly as easy as the previous ones. Something hung in the air unspoken. Loke was walking more slowly than usual and seemed to be brooding.

"What's wrong?" Raven asked him, wondering why his attitude had spontaneously changed.

"There's this place I want to stop on the way back," was the only response she got out of him. He refused to elaborate, much to her irritation.

"Well, fine. I guess we'll stop." She frowned. Something about his posture and tone made her uneasy.

Eventually Loke came to a stop. "This is it." He said quietly.

"You wanted to stop at a playground?" Raven asked confused. The playground was simple and there wasn't a child to be seen.

"Yeah, come on." He said, leading her through the mulched area towards a swing set near the back. Gently he set the bags filled with her clothes and shoes down and picked a swing to sit on. Raven followed his lead.

"What is all this about?" She prompted when he hadn't said anything for a while.

With a sigh he started. "I-" then stopped. With a hand on either chain of the swing he looked at her sideways, his hazel eyes holding an obvious sadness that she didn't understand. He ran a hand through his hair and tried again. "When we switched bodies…" Raven stiffened, suddenly understanding what was going on. "I noticed something about your magic."

Raven turned away from his gaze to stare at her feet, which were sliding the mulch back and forth under her swing. She chewed her lip, not saying anything. "You aren't just a maker wizard." It wasn't a question.

"No." She said after a long stretch of silence.

She could still feel his gaze on her. "I don't understand." He said. "If you are a dragon slayer too, why haven't you told Natsu?"

Instinctively Raven reached and gingerly touched the necklace tucked away under her shirt. "It's complicated." She said hollowly.

"Can you elaborate?" He asked slowly. She knew Loke could feel her withdrawing from him.

"It's just… complicated." She repeated.

"Were you actually raised by a dragon too?" Raven's mind filled with the image of Kayerith.

"Yes." She said quietly after another long pause.

"Come on, don't do this. Don't shut down on me. This could be really important for Natsu. For as long as I've known him all he's wanted to do is find Igneel again, the dragon that raised him. If you can help him you-"

"I can't help him." She spoke in a clipped voice. "The only reason I even ended up in Fairy Tail was because I thought he could help me find Kayerith."

"I still don't understand. Natsu is so proud of his dragon slayer magic. Why haven't you told anyone?" Loke pressed.

"I said it's complicated okay." Raven snapped and rose from the swing in a flurry. She stopped several paces away from the swings and crossed her arms over her chest, leaving her back to Loke.

Internal conflict warred. She desperately wanted to tell him what was going on. Her head swam with images from her nightmare. She wanted to tell him that she had spent the last several years running from someone. She wanted to tell him what had happened to her the last time he had found her. She wanted to tell him that if she displayed her dragon slayer magic he would surely be able to find her again. She felt the tears in her lavender eyes and willed them away.

"Hey, hey, hey…" Loke whispered quietly, turning her towards him. Without hesitation he pulled her into his arms. She leaned against his chest. "It's okay. I'm sorry I brought it up." His tone was still quiet and reassuring. Raven knew he must be frustrated with her reluctance to explain herself but she was glad that he was no longer pushing it. A single tear slide down her cheek.

"Loke," she said, stepping away from him. "You can't tell anyone about my magic." Maybe it was something in her voice, or something in her eyes, but Loke nodded his consent to keep her secret.

"Come on, let's get you home." He said quietly.


	16. When Phantom's Attack

**Quick Author's Note: Hey guys, I've got another chapter for you guys! It explains a lot about Raven and why she is the way she is but it is also pretty dark, so just be prepared for that. In the end I really like how this story is progressing and I'm growing more and more found of Raven (I know these last couple of chapters might have painted her like a cry-baby but I promise she's not and this chapter will kinda explain that). Anyway, hope you guys like it! Leave reviews to let me know what you think! End Author's Note**

* * *

Natsu's laughter rang out down the street. "Was that an awesome job or what?" He put his hands behind his hand.

"Are you still going on about that?" Raven chuckled. About every fifteen minutes since they had left their employer's house Natsu had been mentioning how spectacular their job had gone.

"Well, the client sure seemed to think so!" Happy agreed.

"Face it; you guys are just lucky that _I _decided to come along." Gray jested, though it was hard to tell past his usual calm demeanor.

"We're lucky that you begged to come with us? How do you figure?" Natsu replied immediately, stopping Raven from making her own sarcastic comment.

"Because you were about as helpful as one of Erza's suitcases," Gray said matter-of-factly. Raven really wasn't sure that he was teasing anymore. All it took was that one comment and the boys were at each other's throats once more.

"You better watch your mouth or I'll pack you like a suitcase, pal." Natsu threatened, cracking his knuckles.

"That doesn't even make sense." Gray glared at him.

"Enough boys!" Erza shouted, suddenly stepping between the bickering pair. "Now, please, get dressed." Erza ordered nonchalantly.

"For crying out loud! Why does this keep happening to me?" Gray panicked as he realized that somewhere along the way he had lost his clothes.

"I don't know Gray," Happy interjected. "Raven's an ice wizard and she always keep her clothes on." The comment got a laugh out of Lucy and even a smile out of Erza. Raven shrugged while Gray blushed slightly in embarrassment. "A bit of advice, never get into a fight in your underwear."

"Stop laughing at me." Gray complained as soon as he had found his pants.

"Stop stripping and we wouldn't have to laugh at you." Natsu shrugged.

"He's got a point." Erza added. Raven grinned. Gray mumbled something inaudible under his breath but Raven had a suspicion that it was a threat of some sort.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt your conversation but," Lucy started.

"What's up?" Natsu said as they all turned their attention to Lucy, who had been relatively quiet during the walk home.

"When I took this job," she held up the flier advertising the job they had just finished and a reward of 500J. "I was originally thinking it would be more of a solo mission, ya know." Plue shook in her other arm and made a strange noise. "So, why'd you all have to come along?" She asked with curious annoyance.

"Oh, come on, isn't it obvious?" Natsu asked without hesitation.

"Uh, no, I don't think so." Lucy said with slightly more annoyance and less curiosity.

Natsu struck a pose before responding. With a grin and a thumbs up he explained, "we are Fairy Tail's strongest team so we gotta stick together." He glanced over his shoulder at Gray, his grin widening.

"Aye sir!" Happy chorused from Gray's back.

"And don't you forget it." Gray added with his own small smile. Erza nodded her agreement. Raven, although present, still wasn't exactly sure that she qualified as a member of Natsu's team considering she had only been a part of the guild for a little over a week, so she remained silent.

Lucy stared at them all for a moment before she cracked her own satisfied smile. "Yeah we are!" she gave a small fist pump with the arm holding Plue, who mumbled his own agreement.

"No job is too tough! Not for me, Happy, Erza, Raven, and old droopy drawers here." Natsu put his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest slightly.

"Don't call me that." Gray sighed and shoved his hands even further into his pockets.

"Hmm, we are quite the capable bunch." Erza nodded.

"True that!" Happy yelled again.

"You forgot about me!" Lucy shouted at Natsu, clearly offended. Raven couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. She knew more than half the reason Natsu continued to tease Lucy so much was because he always got a reaction out of her.

"Oh, lighten up. I'm just messin' with you Loopy." Natsu was back to walking with his hands behind his head. Raven tried to stifle her audible laugh and failed miserably. Despite the fact that Natsu had been clearly joking with Lucy, Raven couldn't help but feel a sense of pride at being included in his list. _Maybe I have actually found a home._ She thought, remembering how Natsu had insisted that she accompany them on the mission.

"Well, I don't appreciate it and that's not my name." She glared angrily, clearly not finding the same humor in the situation as Raven.

"Please, forgive me." Erza pulled up short. "I truly didn't mean to upset you. I let myself get carried away. It will not happen again. If you would like, you may strike me now." She stared intently at Lucy, who was clearly a little uneasy at her words. If she hadn't had an expression of such intense seriousness Raven would have thought she was continuing with the trend of teasing Lucy.

"That's okay. I really don't think it's in my best interest." Lucy spoke slowly and shook her head.

"Smart move," the boys said together. Raven arched an eyebrow at Erza. She found the older girl's odd quirks rather endearing.

While the others continued their banter Raven began to tune them out. She had begun to notice the strange looks from the passersby in Magnolia and Raven was trying to determine the root cause. Even though she had sensitive ears, she could only pick a few phrases out from the noise and chatter of the city. "Those are Fairy Tail wizards right?" "I wonder if they know." "I feel so bad for them." She bit her lip, concerned about what could have caused such a disturbance.

"Hey, guys," she said quietly, still watching those that were staring at them. "I think something is going on." She nodded towards the surrounding townsfolk as she looked back at her companions.

"Why is everybody staring at us?" Gray asked, moving closer to Raven. _That's odd._ She furrowed her brows as she noticed the tiny changes that made Gray's defensive, protective.

"It's not the good kinda starin'" Happy observed from just overhead.

"It feels like pity." Erza pointed out.

"From what I've heard, it sounds like pity." Raven agreed.

They rounded the corner, leading them closer to their guild hall and pulled to an abrupt halt. Even from this distance they could see the misshapen form of their guild hall. "What?" Erza breathed. "Why does the guild hall look so bizarre?"

"I don't think you want to know." Raven whispered back without removing her eyes from the distorted silhouette of the guild hall in the distance.

"Come on, let's go." Gray suddenly broke into a run and the other's immediately followed suit.

* * *

"No way…" Gray whispered in shock as they came to a halt outside the remains of the building. Up close Raven realized that the damage was fair greater than she had originally thought. There were massive metal beams protruding from nearly every surface of the hall. She didn't even want to image what the inside looked like.

"What's happened to it?" Erza questioned as if one of them could provide an answer.

"No," Lucy brought her hands to her cover her mouth in horror. "I don't understand."

"Who would do this?" Raven stared at the building in shock. _Is it coincidence that it happened immediately after I joined the guild? Or was it _him?_ And so soon after the return of my nightmares…. No, it couldn't possibly be him. _Raven shook her head, unwilling to believe.

"Our guild," Natsu's face twisted with a rage that Raven had never seen and his features grew darker by the second. His arms began to shake from the force of his clenched muscles. "Someone did this to our guild." He growled.

"But, who would do such a thing?" Erza repeated Raven's question as they all continued to stare, coming up with their own ideas in their heads.

"It was Phantom." A voice spoke from behind them. Pulled from their thoughts, the group turned to find Mirajane standing there. She was clearly upset and her eyes told Raven all she needed to know. Morale was low; their spirits wounded.

"Are you serious?" Gray sounded incredulous. Raven glanced between him and Mirajane.

"You mean Phantom did this?" Natsu questioned her to be certain he had understood.

"Are you talking about the Phantom Lord guild?" Raven asked, still unsure. Raven was familiar with Phantom Lord only because they were one of the largest guilds in Fiore. Mirajane nodded at Raven and Natsu.

"We couldn't do anything to stop them." Mira explained. "They got us good." She whispered quietly. Mira's voice sounded as if she was already broken and suddenly Raven wondered if anyone had been hurt in the attack. "Come on," she lead the group into the building and made a sharp turn to head down the stairs into the guild hall basement.

"We've been running things down here since the upstairs was destroyed." Mira explained as she lead them down the stairs.

"I don't understand. We've never been on the best terms with those Phantom jerks but come on." Raven could hear Jet saying from a table before she saw him. As they descended she found him sitting at a table with the rest of team Shadowgear.

"Wanna teach them a lesson?" Droy offered, cracking his knuckles threateningly.

"Back off you guys." Levy scolded the boys though her heart clearly wasn't in it. "Don't you think we are in enough trouble already?" Raven, focused on the conversation at their table hadn't realized they had already reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Yo! Whas' up kidz?" Master Makarov asked as they approached. Raven's sensitive nose could smell the liquor on his breath even though he was still halfway across the room.

"Uh, hi," Lucy said hesitantly as she reached the same conclusion Raven had. Master had drunk his frustrations away.

"Sorry we weren't here sooner." Erza immediately apologized. She seemed to be completely ignoring the fact Master Makarov was completely wasted and smell like a old brewery.

"Why the heck are you all just sitting around down here?" Natsu snapped angrily when he couldn't hold it back anymore.

Ignoring Natsu, the Master addressed Lucy, "How'd it go Lucy? You finish the job like a good girl?" The Master's voice was slurred and very singsong.

"Yeah, I guess so?" Lucy said, still clearly unsure of how she should be handling the Master's drunken stupor.

"Master, do you understand the gravity of this situation?" Erza questioned.

"The guild hall has been completely destroyed." Natsu growled.

"There's no need to getsh yourshelves all worked up. It ain't da end a da world or anythin'." Master Makarov took another large swig from his mug.

"What?" Gray asked dumbly, as if he couldn't believe what the Master had just said.

"Jus' goes ta show how cowardly those dunderheads in the Phantom Lord guild really are. They struck when no one was her'. Is that anythin' with braggin' 'bout?" _He's just as upset as everyone else._ Raven realized as she watched him closely and listened to the tone of his voice. There was a subtle strain there that she hadn't heard before.

"No one was here?" Erza asked. Raven continued to watch Master's face as she listened. His cheeks were flushed from the alcohol.

"It was after everyone had already left for the night." Mira said in the same quiet, defeated voice she had used earlier. _So no one was hurt._ The thought made Raven feel better although that didn't stop the anger over the destruction of the guild hall from rearing its head. She had only been a member of Fairy Tail for a little over a week but these people had welcomed her as a member of their family.

"I suppose we can be thankful for that. At least no one in our guild was hurt in the attack." Erza sighed. Raven scanned the room, absently making notes of who was present. _Loke isn't here._ She realized. She took a deep breath. _No, he is._ She thought when she smelled his cologne on the air. It was hard to pinpoint though because of all the other people in the room. She bit her lip. Loke and her hadn't had much time to talk following their afternoon shopping because Raven had left with the others the following afternoon but Raven felt relief that he was alright.

"We shouldn't trouble ourshelves worryin' 'bout people who don't even have da gutz to face us heed on. Forget 'bout those foolz." Master shrugged nonchalantly.

All of the sudden there was a crash and Raven whipped around from her scan of the room. Natsu's fist had made a rather large dent in the wooden support pillar, sending chunks of wood flying. "Ain't gonna happen Gramps. We can't just let them trash our place and get away with it." He yelled.

"I'm no talkin' 'bout this any longer. We'll handle job requests down here until da upstairs is repaired." Despite the fact that a few words were still slurred there was something in the Master's voice that made Raven think he meant business but apparently Natsu hadn't picked on it because he immediately started to argue.

"We shouldn't be worrying about right now we-"

"Natsu! That's enough out of you." The Master shouted over Natsu's protests, the slur all but removed from his voice. Suddenly there was a sharp smack against her butt.

"What the-?" She jumped, only to see the Master's hand out stretched from his place on the table.

"And you spanked me because?" Lucy asked darkly. Raven glared at the Master."

"Hand to yourself Master." Mirajane scolded with a hint of her old spunk back in her voice.

"Agreed." Raven growled, backing away from him. She bumped into someone. A spark of electricity jumped between them. "Ow," She jerked away, tripped and began to fall. A hand clasped her upper arm, stopping her descent. Raven began blushing instantly. "I'm sorry I'm so clum-" She stopped she she turned to see Gray staring at her. It was Gray she had run into. He shot Master Makarov a murderous glare but his expression softened immediately as he turned back to Raven.

"I'm sorry, you alright?" He looked down at Raven with midnight blue eyes. Her heart skipped a beat as she realized she his hand was still on her arm.

Her voice caught in her throat. "Yeah," she swallowed hard. "I'm fine." She stared at him, unwilling to look away just yet.

"I didn't mean to shock you." He whispered, staring back just as intently. He hesitated, leaving his hand on her arm a moment longer than was necessary.

"There you are." The familiar voice pulled her from her trance-like moment with Gray. Loke was approaching them. Raven stepped stiffly away from Gray, as if she had been caught doing something bad.

"Hey," she said, forcing a smile.

"I was beginning to worry about you." He said to her. He quickly pulled her into a hug as soon as he reached her. Raven, somewhat surprised but the embrace, hesitated before returning the hug.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She said. She shot a glance at Gray, who was watching them carefully, the same strange expression she had seen when they had left to go shopping. She bit her lip, unsure of what it meant.

"It's not fair! Those Phantom creeps started it!" Natsu was shouting again.

"I know, but that doesn't matter." Mira stressed.

"If the Master's decision is to not retaliate then we must respect it." Erza frowned. Natsu ground his teeth in frustration and anger and stalked off.

"Natsu, wait." Raven called after him.

"Just let him go." Gray said with an unusually dark tone in his voice. _He must be upset about Makarov's ruling too._ Raven sighed and let her hand fall.

"Well, what now?" She asked the others after a moment of silence.

"For now, I guess we wait." Erza spoke with a frown that mirrored Raven's own.

"Can you guys tell me more about this feud with the Phantom Lord guild?" Raven asked, mostly directly her question at Erza.

"Of course, let's find a table." Erza lead Lucy, Gray, Raven, and Loke to a nearby unoccupied table. Erza began a tale about their feud with the Phantom Lord guild but with a few carefully placed questions Raven managed to derail them from their dark musings. Soon the guild hall was filled with laughter and tales from their younger years in the guild. Soon Cana joined them, followed by Levy and the boys from team Shadowgear. Raven kept quiet, mostly choosing to listen rather than answer unwanted questions about her own past. She learned much about her guild mates and was finally starting to feel like an actual member of the guild.

"I guess it's probably about time to head home." Lucy announced with a yawn. Raven turned and looked at the clock. She hadn't realized so much time had passed but it was certainly past dark out now.

"Yeah, we should probably get going. We have to stop on the way home anyway." Raven stood with Lucy.

"Be careful going home." Loke nodded to Raven.

"Sure thing." Raven nodded with a gentle smile. "Come on, Lucy." The blonde girl grabbed the suitcase she had brought on the mission and followed Raven up the stairs and out into the night.

"Do we really need to stop? I don't remember needing to grab anything." Lucy asked her once outside. She looked up at the night sky.

"I just wanted to grab another book actually. I guess I should have asked if you minded but I was hoping that we could on our way home. I finished mine while we were gone."

"I love book shopping! You won't hear me complaining." Lucy grinned.

"Great!" Raven smiled back and the two girls headed in the direction of Lucy's favorite book store.

About halfway there Lucy spoke, "so, are you and Loke a thing?" The abruptness of the question caught Raven off guard.

"What?" She turned to Lucy

"I mean, I don't know, it just kinda seems like he likes you I guess." She shrugged. "I thought maybe you two were dating or something."

"No, we aren't dating." Raven said.

"Well, do you like him?" Lucy pressed, clearly not getting the answer she had hoped for.

Raven blushed. "I-I don't know." Even though the girls were talking about Loke an image of Gray filled Raven's head. She willed it away as quickly as it had appeared. "We had fun shopping I guess."

"You do like him!" Lucy squealed.

"I said I don't know!" Raven shot back at her. Lucy gave her a skeptical look because Raven couldn't stop the smile on her face. "It's complicated." She said finally.

Lucy grinned triumphantly. "Well, I think you guys would be cute together. Plus, Loke used to be a big time ladies' man and I haven't seen another girl around since you joined the guild. I think he actually likes you." She added.

"You think so?" Raven asked quietly, blushing again. She couldn't help the fact that it felt good to know someone else thought that he might like her.

"I do," Lucy nodded as she pulled open the door to the book store. Raven shewed her lip through a smile. Lucy laughed suddenly. "You are adorable." She said.

Raven stopped suddenly and tilted her head slightly. "What?" She asked dumbfounded. Lucy just shook her head.

"Never mind," she said with a smile.

* * *

"This is a pretty big mess we are in, isn't it?" Lucy said after they had been walking in silence for a while.

"Watch out Blondy! You are one step away from swimming!" A man from a passing boat shouted. Both Raven and Lucy, who was walking on the edge near the river, ignored him.

"Yeah, it seems like it. But, if the Master ordered us to stand down what can we do?" Raven sighed. She was frustrated with his decision but also felt as though she could understand. He was airing on the side of caution rather than being reckless.

"I had no idea the Phantom Lord guild and Fairy Tail has such a rivalry between them." Lucy thought aloud.

"I didn't know either actually. I didn't really know a whole lot about the official guilds. I tended to avoid guild wizards whenever possible." Raven said slowly, trying to judge if her statement was going to offend Lucy. The other girl didn't seem to care and continued unfazed.

"Really? How come?" Lucy asked, shooting a glance at Raven.

"Well, I knew I didn't want to join to a guild and honestly, a lot of guild wizards look down on independents." Raven shrugged. "They'd just give me a lot of trouble."

"You didn't want to join a guild? Why not?" Lucy seemed blown away by the fact that Raven hadn't wanted to join a guild.

"It's… complicated." Raven said slowly. Lucy frowned.

"You say that a lot." She observed. Raven twisted uncomfortably under the scrutiny of Lucy's gaze. Taking the hint Lucy changed the subject, "honestly, I thought about joining Phantom before I met up with Natsu."

Raven sighed in relief. "Really? That would have been crazy. I wonder if you would have been okay with destroying our guild hall if you had joined them." Raven speculated aloud. "Perspective can change just about anything."

"No kidding," Lucy said quietly. "You know," she continued after a slight pause. "They have a reputation of being almost as crazy as Fairy Tail! But I love our guild; I don't regret my decision at all." Lucy smiled at her suddenly. _Our guild_…

"You know, I don't regret it at all either." Raven said, realizing she truly meant her words.

"Fairy Tail is kinda like my family." Lucy smiled over her shoulder as she opened the door to their apartment. _Family… _Raven sighed, her heart suddenly heavy with the memory of the people she had lost.

"Very nice place you have here." Erza's voice announced as soon as the door was open.

"Do you have to show up without asking first?" Lucy panicked and swung her suitcase, hitting Natsu square in the face.

"What the hell?" Raven stood in the doorway, watching the chaos unfold.

"Why are you here?" Lucy demanded to know.

"Since the guild has been attacked, we can assume there are Phantom Lord members in town." Erza started to explain. She lifted a small, steaming tea cup to her lips.

"They've probably found out where everyone in Fairy Tail lives by now." Gray said, turning in his seat.

"I didn't realize you were here too." Raven whispered as she closed the door and stepped further into the room. Her eyes were wide as they met Gray's for the briefest second.

"Where we live?" Lucy shuddered at the thought.

"Mira said it might be safer if we holed up together," Gray explained, looking at Raven still. "You know, strength in numbers."" His tone was relatively light hearted but his eyes were intense at they continued to watch Raven.

"I guess she's right." Lucy sighed, realizing that meant all three guild members would be staying here with them tonight.

"That's why everyone in Fairy Tail is having a slumber party tonight!" Happy shouted excitedly.

"Weren't you just saying how Fairy Tail was like you family?" Raven grinned suddenly at Lucy.

"You were? That's a nice sentiment." Erza smiled at Lucy as well.

"Would you can-it?" Lucy growled at Raven under her breath.

"You are attractive teenage girls after all. I wasn't entirely comfortable with you being here alone with just Natsu and Gray." Erza said with just the slightest hint of amusement in her voice. Natsu and Gray both glared at her for insinuating they lacked moral character. "I felt I could only relax if I stayed here as well." Erza continued as if she hadn't even seen their looks.

"It's not time to relax." Natsu grumbled angrily, still clearly not pleased with the Master's decision.

"So, it was already decided that these two would stay with us?" Lucy asked incredulous. "Why'd they have to come to our place?" She whined.

"They volunteered to come actually." Erza pointed out. A moment later, as if to confirm Lucy's reasons for complaining, Happy burst out, "whoa, you sure do have a lot of dirty clothes." Raven crossed one arm over her chest and used the free hand to massage her temples with her thumb and middle finger gently. _It's going to be a long night._ She sighed.

"What are you doing? Get out of my stuff! You better stop that right now or you are both dead meat!" She was screaming at both Happy in the clothes and Plue, who had found her candy stash and was now consuming it at a rapid pace.

"Oh! Plue, did you find something to eat? Don't go hogging it all!" Natsu was suddenly much less angry about the guild hall and more focused on getting some of the candy into his own stomach.

"Look Erza, I found some filly panties you might like." Happy said holding up a pair of Lucy's pink laced underwear.

"I can't believe you'd actually wear something like this!" Erza said with wide eyes as she rose to examine Happy's findings.

Gray quickly found a place on the bed and made himself comfortable in order to watch the drama unfold.

"Don't look now Lucy, but Gray is in his underwear on your bed." Raven whispered, pointing subtly to the bed.

"I need to get some shut eye so can you guys try to keep it down?" He announced, strictly to stir the pot.

"You guys are taking this make yourself at home thing a little too far." Lucy sighed helplessly. Raven, watching the utter chaos couldn't help but start laughing. Erza examining Lucy's panties in one corner, Gray lounging on her bed in his underwear, and Natsu shoveling in her candy on the floor. They truly had taken the saying 'make yourself at home' quite literally. It was all quite humorous until Happy started to find Raven's laundry.

"Hmm… Are these Raven's or Lucy's?" Happy asked swinging a pair of black lace panties with lavender bows.

"Uh, those aren't mine." Lucy pointed out, giving Raven tentative look.

"Drop it or die cat." Raven scowled darkly at Happy and stalked closer to him.

"It's Raven's!" Happy took off into the air and began flying around the apartment out of Raven's reach with the panties in tow.

"I said drop it or die!" Raven shouted, blushing furiously. She shot Gray a quick glance only to see that he was blushing slightly as well as he looked from the panties to Raven and back again. "Ice-make Dragon Wings!" She shouted, slamming her hands together and instantly casting the spell that would allow her to reach Happy.

"Not in the apartment!" Lucy shrieked as soon as the ice wings had begun to form on Raven's back. Raven, entirely focused on getting her underwear back from Happy, miscalculated the amount of space her dragon wings took up and suddenly there was the sound of crashing dishes as her wings pushed the tea set Erza had been using off of the table and onto the floor.

Raven stood, wings spread wide and ice sword in hand. "AH!" Happy cried and instantly dropped the panties as Raven glared up at him with a terrifying scowl. "She's as scary as Erza!" He screamed as he darted to hide behind Natsu, who had been watching carefully.

"That's what I thought." Raven said, scooping up the panties and letting the ice wings and sword dissipate into a cool, dry fog.

"That was quite the display of magical force, Raven." Erza observed. "I didn't realize you were quite so skilled." Erza's tone was matter-of-fact but Raven could tell there was something unspoken beneath her words, just not what it was. Raven bit her lip. _I may have pushed a little too far._

Raven turned to Happy and Natsu, "maybe next time…" She started to lecture Happy but let her voice trail off when she realized Natsu was giving her a strange look. He continued to stare at her as he sniffed the air gently. Almost unnoticeably he narrowed his eyes at her but didn't say anything. _Is he starting to figure it out? _Raven wondered as she started back at him.

"We have a serious problem here." Erza announced suddenly. The sound of her voice drew Natsu's attention away from Raven. "You boys' hygiene. I refuse to sleep in a room that reeks of sweat."

"I don't want to take a bath right now." Natsu complained.

"But I already got comfortable." Gray matched to subtle whine in Natsu's voice.

"Come on boys, do we have to take a bath together like we did when we were kids?" Erza loomed over them with a knowing smile.

"What kind of relationship do you guys have?" Lucy asked incredulously.

"They're the strongest team!" Happy shouted, completely missing the point of Lucy's question. Raven was glad that he had seemingly recovered from his fright.

"More like the strangest team." Lucy mumbled.

* * *

The group agreed to a shower schedule to appease Erza, who naturally got to go first, and quickly they began to unwind from the eventful day.

"Alright Natsu, you're up." Lucy announced as she walked from the bathroom, still patting her hair dry with a towel. Raven, having finished her bath before Lucy was curled up in the arm chair with the book she had just picked up. Natsu was drooling on the kitchen table between snores. Gray had made himself comfortable at Lucy's desk and had an arm draped over the chair. Erza had perched herself on the edge of Lucy's bed but was still wearing a bath towel. "Wanna take his spot Gray?" Lucy asked when she saw Natsu clearly asleep at the table. Gray's response was a noncommittal grunt.

"You should, it was so relaxing." Erza sighed happily.

"Geez, I'm glad to see you all are so comfortable here." Lucy sighed exasperatedly.

"I suppose I should get dressed." Erza said in response. A moment later there was a swirl of lights around her body. Just as quickly as the lights had appeared they disappeared to reveal Erza now dressed in pink pajamas.

"So, you always change like that?" Raven asked, looking up from her book.

Before Erza could answer Raven's question Lucy spoke, "not to bring up bad thoughts but… Erza, do you have any idea why Phantom attacked us out of the blue like that?" She sat next to Natsu at the table, careful to avoid his drool puddle.

"I'm afraid not. We have had our fair share of scuffles with them in the past but never anything on this sort of magnitude before." Erza frowned.

"If Gramps wasn't so scared of them we could wipe out those punks once and for all." Natsu snarled suddenly.

"Since when are you awake?" Lucy asked, surprised that he had spoken.

"Come on, you know Master isn't afraid of them Natsu. You seem to be forgetting he's one of the ten wizard saints." Gray's frown matched Erza's.

Raven looked at him in surprise. She knew Makarov was strong but she hadn't realized he was considered among the ten wizard saints.

"Hey!" Lucy shot out of the chair like a rocket, throwing it backwards. "I never gave you permission to read that!" Just as quickly as she had jumped up she snatched a stack of papers from Gray's hands.

"You can't snatch it out of my hands without at least telling me what happens next." He complained, holding on his hand in a gesture that demanded she hand the papers back.

"Yes, I can. I promised Levy she'd be the first to read it so you're just going to have to wait." Lucy hugged the papers close to her body defensively.

"Hmm," Erza made a noise to get Lucy's attention. She stretched out her hand towards the blonde in a gesture similar to Gray's.

"You're not getting this either!" Lucy snapped at her. Erza shrugged. "So, what's with these ten wizard saints anyway?" Lucy asked.

"It's an honor bestowed by the magic council; an extremely coveted title shared by the ten most powerful wizards on the continent." Erza explained patiently.

"Really?" Lucy seemed amazed by the thought that a wizard so powerful was a part of their guild.

"Phantom Lord's Master Jose is one of them too." Happy added before Lucy could get her hopes too high.

"They also only pull wizards from the official guilds, meaning there could be Independents or dark guilds with stronger members." Raven added. She glanced around carefully, unsure of how the others would react to her input. Even if it was true, she knew that some official guild wizards did not take kindly to the thought that an Independent or a dark guild wizard might be stronger than them.

"He is afraid." Natsu slammed a hand onto the table suddenly. Raven was glad to see he seemed unfazed by her comment. "He's afraid that Phantom has too many members for us to handle." Natsu scowled at no one in particular.

"Could you use your inside voice?" Lucy whispered adorably, trying to calm Natsu down before everything grew too chaotic again.

"That is not true and you know it." Gray leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. "It's just like Mira and Master said before: the consequences of is going to war with Phantom are nowhere near worth the fight. The order of the magical world is at stake here."

"I had no idea it was this big of a problem. Is retaliating truly that serious?" Raven whispered from her arm chair.

"But, I don't understand why. Are they really that strong?" Lucy asked quietly.

"They ain't got nothin' on us." Natsu smirked cockily. "We can take those clowns."

"No." Erza interjected. "If we were to engage them in battle neither guild would survive. Their strength equals ours." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Phantom's Master Jose is also one of the ten wizard saints, which means he's on par with Makarov. They also have an elite group of wizards similar to our S-class known as the Element Four. However, their biggest threat may be Blacksteel Gajeel. I believe that he's most likely the one behind the guild hall's destruction. He's known as the Iron Dragon Slayer." Erza concluded dramatically.

"He's a Dragon Slayer too?" Lucy sounded nearly panicked. Raven gasped audibly as she inhaled a deep breath sharply. She stared at Erza with wide eyes. She had no idea there were other Dragon Slayers beside herself and Natsu. "I thought Natsu was the only one." _Not the only one._ Raven suddenly felt slightly guilty for her secret. She bit her lip and looked down from the conversation. "So, if he's the iron Dragon Slayer, does that mean he eats iron?" Lucy asked, even though she already knew the answer.

No one responded to Lucy's words, letting them hang in the air. After the silence had stretched a moment too long Raven stood from the chair. "We should all try to get some sleep." She announced. She knew that after thoughts like that sleep may be difficult to find but she was in desperate need of some.

"Agreed." Erza nodded.

"I uh… still haven't gotten a bed so I kinda just sleep over here on the floor." Raven admitted with a hesitant chuckle, rubbing the back of her head.

"That's fine. I will share this space with Lucy." Erza patted the bed that she had just sat back down on. "The boys can find a place on the floor as well." With no objections everyone split, finding their various favored spots. Natsu sprawled mindlessly in the middle of the hallway leading to the bathroom and front door.

"Here is good, huh Little Buddy?" He asked as Happy settled in next to him.

Raven sat cross-legged on the floor in her usual spot against the wall. "Is this too close?" Gray asked carefully as he threw a pillow onto the ground about four feet from Raven's. She blushed slightly though she wasn't sure why.

"No, that's fine." She looked away from him as she spoke. Despite her best efforts to block out the thought she couldn't help but think, just for a moment, what it might feel like to share a pillow with Gray. Her blush deepened drastically.

"You alright?" Gray asked suddenly.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine!" Raven responded over-dramatically, shaking both her hands and her head. Gray gave her a contemplative look.

"Good night everyone," Erza spoke quietly and then suddenly the light was flipped off. Raven had been so wrapped up in her thoughts of Gray that she hadn't even realized that Erza was standing. She sighed loudly and curled up on her side. It didn't take long for Natsu's snores to fill the room with a quiet rumble. She pulled the blanket up to her chin and stared in the direction she knew Gray was lying.

It had been five days since her nightmares had returned to her and she hadn't gotten a truly restful night of sleep since. Luckily, she hadn't woken up the others during their nights on the previous mission. She squeezed her eyes shut to the darkness of the room and took another deep breath. _Please, just let me have no night of peace, one night of sleep that isn't filled with old ghosts and haunts. _She thought as she drifted into sleep.

* * *

When Raven woke she found herself blinking and shying away from the bright sunlight. She tightly squeezed her eyes before opening them again. In the distance was the faint sound of a bird chirping. A cool breeze blew and overhead canopy shifted, causing the light that speckled the forest floor to dance. _Where am I?_

Slowly she rubbed her eyes and stood to get a better look at her surroundings. The leaves overhead were a rich green color and layered thickly. The tree roots that she had been nestled between were smooth with a yellowed bark. The floor was blanketed with tufts of swaying grass and leaves. Something about the place seemed familiar and despite the simplistic beauty of the place Raven found her own sense of unease growing.

Suddenly she realized the bird in the distance had stopped chirping. She glanced around in paranoia. Finding nothing she shook her head. "Stop being stupid, there's nothing wrong here." She took a deep breath to steady her nerves.

Her breath caught in her throat when she heard it. It was as if she couldn't exhale. It was laughter, an all too familiar and all too terrible laughter. "No," She breathed in disbelief. "No, no, no, this is impossible." She shook her head with increasing panic. She took a step away from the direction of the sound and then another. "There's no way you could have found me. I was too careful." Raven could feel the panic rising in her as she turned and sprinted for her life.

Vines tried to trip her and branches scratched at her arms and face. It seemed as if the entire forest was against her escape. Tears blurred her vision. _No, no, no, run faster. _She kept screaming at herself.

She put her head down and closed her eyes as she crashed through a particularly thick patch of branches. With closed eyes she didn't see the tree root sticking up on the other side. Her foot caught and in a moment she was falling. A gut reaction caused her to throw out her arms to catch her fall. As her body contacted the ground there was a sickening crack and pain blossomed in her arm.

There, lying on the forest floor, Raven clutched her broken wrist. Her eyes darted from side to side as she desperately sought a hiding spot. Then she saw it, a small opening tucked into the base of a tree. Frantically she crawled, still clutching her broken arm towards her only chance of safety. Once again laughter penetrated her focus she shivered as she tried to curled herself into the hole beneath the tree.

Suddenly something grabbed her ankle. Raven screamed as the man ripped her out from under the tree and threw her to the ground at his feet. "Well, well, well. What _do_ we have here? And I was told my prey would put up a fight." She shivered involuntarily. His voice… "Come on, girl, put up a fight." He launched a foot into her stomach. She tried to suck in air at the same moment that it was forcefully expelled from her body. She erupted into a fit of choked coughs and rolled into a better position to breath.

"Actually, I've changed my mind. I think I like the sounds of terrified crying more." She could hear the twisted smirk on his face.

"Why are you after me?" She choked out into the dirt. She turned her head to glare at him.

"You mean you don't know?" He looked at her with genuine surprise on his face. His psychotic laughter filled the air again but he stopped when her expression didn't change. "Oh gods, you _actually_ don't know." His twisted smirk grew. "That's going to make this all the more satisfying.

"Leave me alone." She growled as menacingly as she could. He crouched down next to her on the ground, leaning on his toes.

"Now, why would I do that? I'm under strict orders to bring you back." He tilted his head to the side. This close to his face Raven could see the psychotic glint in his red eyes.

"I'm warning you, I'm a –" She started to threaten.

"Dragon Slayer?" He finished her statement rising back to his full height. "Yes, that's right. I already know _all_ about you." It was then that something different crept into his face. He stood over her watching, drinking her in. "Not _all _about you." He said slowly. Raven shivered again. There was a hunger look in his eyes that she didn't like.

Slowly, realization of what he meant hit her. Her eyes went wide with a new type of fear. She began to crawl away from him but cried out as she put weight on her already forgotten arm.

When he saw that she understood his meaning he grinned sadistically before breaking into another bout of laughter. "That's right. This is another dream, and in these dreams, I _always _get what I want." Raven watched as his eyes filled with malicious hunger.

"Ice-make-" When she slammed her hands together to cast the spell she screamed as pain arched through her arm. _No, I have to cast the spell_. She tried once more, cringing through the pain. "Ice Make Dragon Wings!" She cried. Nothing happened as she searched through herself for her magic but she couldn't feel it. _I can't cast. I can't cast. I'm helpless._ She could feel the fear increasing her breathing. Her mind flashed back to when she was six years old and lying in the snow, she had been unable to use magic then. She had been helpless.

Her assailant's grin widened. "Yes, that's right, try to fight me." He approached her slowly, circling her like a wolf circles a fawn. She followed him with her eyes as he circled his prey, waiting for the right moment to pounce. She hadn't noticed the tears that were spilling down her cheeks. Tears caused by the pain of having to relive this moment in her nightmares night after night after night.

"Leave me alone," she mumbled rather pathetically. Then, he grabbed her good wrist and spun himself over the top of her. He was grinning down at her from his position straddling her waist. Her wrist was still firmly in his grasp. She fought desperately to flip him off, fought to release her wrist from his clamped fist but her efforts were futile. Suddenly pain wracked her arm once more as he grabbed her broken arm as well. She screamed out despite herself.

"Yes, go ahead and scream, no one can hear you inside your own head." He pulled his face perilously close to hers and began to speak in a silky tone. She whimpered involuntarily and shied away from his. "Oh, yes, I can work with this." He drew in a large breath, absorbing her scent. He sat back up and his hungry gaze traveled from her face down to her chest. Moving both wrists to one hand with relative ease, he used his free hand to trace along her cheekbone. She jerked away from his touch and despite her fear glared at him. His fingers moved carefully moved down her chin, along her neck to her collar bone, and then traced gently along the curve of her breast.

"This will be fun indeed." He spoke slowly, emphasizing each word carefully. Suddenly his gentle movement turned harsh. He grabbed her chest and twisted. Raven screamed again. Tears of pain and fear streamed from the corners of her eyes as she closed them to the world around her. _Please, just let me wake up. Please, don't make me do this again. Just WAKE UP._ She ordered herself.

"Stop!" She shouted, gathering the last bit of strength that she had in an attempt to throw him off. He used the movement to shift one leg up onto her torso and dig his knee painfully into her abdomen. She grimaced but resisted the urge to scream again. He then slid his knee down between her legs so that he was straddling only one leg instead of her torso.

Seeing this as her last chance Raven began to struggle even more furiously, writhing on the ground beneath him in any way she thought might deter him. She squeezed her arms painfully hard and she let out the slightest gasp.

Using his free hand he suddenly grabbed a fist full of her already torn shirt and ripped it away from her body. She shivered and tried desperately to cover herself as he grinned triumphantly at her exposed chest. He ran another hand down her body.

"Please stop…" Raven mumbled pathetically as his hand reached his hand reached her pants and stopped.

"No, no, no" he tsked at her. "I can't stop now. I'm just getting started." His malicious grin never left his face as he began to deftly undo her pants. This time even she could hear her sobs. _Why? Why does this haunt me? Why can't I forget and never dream these dreams again. Why can't I just wake up?_ He yanked roughly on one side of her pants.

"Raven, wake up." He said with the same psychotic grin. She was screaming, trying to fight him again. "Wake up! Raven!" She couldn't stop the tears filled with a hundred emotions from falling. She couldn't look away from his red eyes either. "Raven!" Suddenly she was being shaken.

* * *

Raven's eyes snapped open. Suddenly she was back in the real world, back in their apartment, back on the floor. Her body was shaking and her cheeks wet with tears. Her heart still raced with fear. "Wake up," his gentle, warm hand was shaking her shoulder in the dark room. Somehow, seeing his face filled her with such relief that she cried harder.

"Shh…" He whispered, realizing that she was finally awake. "You are okay now." His voice was barely more than a whisper as he easily scooped up the crying girl and pulled her into his lap. Raven didn't fight the warmth of his body against hers. Didn't fit the gentleness she felt emanating from him. Carefully he wrapped her blanket back around her and held her, whispering soothing words. "It was just a dream, you are okay now." Gently he rocked her back and forth and rubbed the back of her head.

His body radiated a large amount of heat for an ice wizard and she nestled herself into him, finding that her head fit perfectly against his chest. He rested his chin on the top of her head and rocked in a soothing motion. His words changed from "you are okay" to "I've got you now. I've got you." And when they did Raven discovered that she was glad that he did. She was glad that Gray was the one holding her. Glad that he was the one chasing away her nightmares. There was a special connection with him that she had made on Galuna Island and in that moment she realized that there was nowhere else she'd rather be than in his arms in that moment.

Slowly her tears began to subside but Gray never stopped clutching her close to him. He never stopped rocking back and forth. Raven listened to his heart beat, strong and steady, in his chest. The room was still dark and it appeared that Gray was the only one that she had awoken with her noise. His chest was wet with tears but he didn't seem to even notice. All he cared about was holding her. As her tears subsided so did his voice, and for what seemed like hours he did nothing but hold her in the dark.

Finally, she broke their silence, "thank you," she whispered into his chest. It was nearly inaudible but in response he gave her a gentle squeeze to let her know that he had heard. He didn't release her, but rather slid back so that he was leaning against a wall. He pulled the blanket over her again and leaned back, allowing her to lean against him. With her head resting gently on his chest with his arms around her, Raven fell back into blissful, dreamless sleep. lectricity jumped between them. "he see Natsi but Ra


End file.
